The following is the text of the Video Message sent by the Holy Father Leo XIV to young Peruvians on the occasion of National Youth Day, taking place in Chulucanas, Peru, from 30 July to 2 August 2026:

Video Message of the Holy Father

Dear young people,

The long-awaited moment has arrived, which you have been preparing for with such enthusiasm over the past few months: the National Youth Day in Chulucanas. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for responding to this initiative, which renews and strengthens the life of the Church.

The theme that brings you together for this gathering is: “Be courageous, Christ lives”. It is precisely the certainty of the Lord’s living presence amongst us that is the inner flame driving us to be courageous and to step out of the comfort of individualism, to become part of a community of brothers and sisters in the faith, to forge true bonds of friendship and thus bear witness to the fact that it is possible to live united in Christ.

I invite you to open your hearts fully to receive the gifts that the Lord wishes to bestow upon you during these days. And whatever you experience during this Day, do not keep it to yourselves; do not let it remain merely in the photos on your mobile phones or in videos on social media. Share it and reflect it in your lives, for many people today need that joyful and infectious witness which a young person who loves Christ can convey. Do not be afraid to be instruments of God in rekindling the hope of many, many hearts that are suffering.

I commend you to the maternal intercession of Our Lady of Evangelization. May she intercede for you, so that you may be the “salt and light” of Christ in this beloved Peruvian land. God bless you!

And may the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, descend upon you. Amen!