Over a million people at the World Youth Meeting with Pope

At the end of the service, he called out to the young faithful: "Strive for greatness, for holiness, wherever you are. Do not be satisfied with less."

During the Sunday Angelus prayer, he recalled the victims of war worldwide. "We stand with the young people in Gaza, in Ukraine and in all countries shaken by war," said Leo. He told the young faithful: "You are the sign that another world is possible: a world of brotherhood and friendship, in which conflicts are not resolved with weapons, but with dialog." He then invited the young believers to the World Youth Meeting 2027 in the South Korean capital Seoul.

The youth meeting is regarded as the central event of the Holy Year. The highlight was the weekend in Tor Vergata, a sports ground in the south-east of the Italian capital, which was already the venue for World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II in 2000.

The modern Pope?

The event was not just a test of the mood for the first American to sit on the Chair of Peter. The meeting of Catholic youth was also the biggest of his still young pontificate to date. At 69, Leo, whose real name is Robert Francis Prevost, is considerably younger than many of his predecessors and is regarded as approachable and a sports enthusiast - one of his first audiences was with tennis star Jannik Sinner.

During the evening vigil on Saturday, Leo answered three questions from young people - in Spanish, English and Italian - about friendship in the age of social media, the fear of making decisions and the search for meaning in a confusing world. After the large open-air event with music and prayer, many young people spent the night in the open air.