The following is the text of the Video Message sent by the Holy Father Leo XIV to the participants in the Second “Rejoice” Meeting, taking place in Lamego, Portugal, from 24 to 26 July 2026 on the occasion of the National Youth Day:

Video Message of the Holy Father

Dear young people,

“Rejoice in the Lord always!” (Phil 4:4) – there in Lamego, and everywhere else: in your families, at school, in your parishes, in the movements and in the various youth groups to which you belong. Rejoice in the Lord together with your bishops and the leaders who accompany you and so many other young people in Portugal. Rejoice with them, as they help you to grow in faith and to open the doors of your hearts to Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life.

I was delighted to hear that you are striving to keep the flame of World Youth Day 2023 burning. Those were splendid and joyful days, owing to the harmony amongst everyone; the harmony between different languages and cultures; but above all, thanks to the intense encounter with the Lord Jesus and the experience of the wonders that the Living Christ works when we gather in His name. He is with us and He is the reason for our joy! He is the source of our unity. In Illo uno unum: “we, though many, are one body in Christ” (Rom 12:5).

I was able to relive what we experienced in Lisbon a year ago during the Jubilee and also, recently, on the Apostolic Journey to Spain. It is always special to be with young people, because the enthusiasm of your faith is infectious! The love you show for Christ is heartening! It is marvellous, in this day and age, to see young people – like you! – full of faith and unafraid to speak of it. It is beautiful to see that you have a deep thirst for the truth, and that you seek it with a sincere heart. It is beautiful to see that you hunger for justice and charity, and do not settle for fleeting values. It is wonderful to observe that you love beauty, especially that beauty which is so ancient and yet so new: our God, who awaits us in the very depths of our being.

I would therefore like, with this greeting, to encourage you to press on. One of the characteristics of young people is that they are restless. Do not be afraid of the restlessness within you! Make the most of its drive to draw even closer to Christ and to bear witness to the values of the Gospel. Firmly rooted in the Word of Jesus, reading the Gospel every day, never cease to dream of a land where there is peace and fraternity, nor to look upon the world with wonder, nor to face the future in the light of hope. Dear young people, do not let anything or anyone rob you of your hope!

I also encourage you to harness your restlessness so that, in moments of prayer and silence, in dialogue with God, you may ask him: “Lord, what do you want me to do in the Church and in the world? What is my vocation? Are you calling me to start a family through marriage? Or are you calling me instead to the priestly life? Or to the religious life? These are important questions to ask, without forgetting a certainty that gives unity to our inner life: God always calls us to be saintly, and saints are profoundly human. Be, then, human as Christ is, and you will certainly change this world for the better. May Our Lady of Fátima, the Mother of Good Counsel, help you!

Dear friends, I now invoke upon you, upon all the young people of Portugal, upon your pastors and upon those responsible for youth ministry, the abundance of Heaven’s graces. May God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, bless you. [Amen!].

I hope you continue to have a wonderful gathering here in Lamego! And I look forward to seeing you in August 2027 in Seoul. Thank you!