His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to Rome's Sapienza University: ‘Be artisans of true peace’
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV makes pastoral visit to the Sapienza University of Rome (@Vatican Media)
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV makes a special visit to Sapienza University of Rome, urging young people to reject resignation, become “artisans of true peace,” and warning against rising military spending and the dangers of artificial intelligence in war.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“Be artisans of true peace: an unarmed and disarming peace, humble and persevering, working for harmony among peoples and for the care of the Earth.”
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV expressed this during his address to the Sapienza University of Rome on Thursday, May 14.
Prior to delivering his remarks, the Holy Father paused in Prayer and greeted members of the university community before proceeding to the rectorate and the Aula Magna for his address.
In his speech, Pope Leo said he accepted “with great joy” the invitation to meet the university community, praising the university as a center of excellence in many disciplines, while also recognizing its commitment to ensuring access to education for those with fewer economic resources, people with disabilities, prisoners, and refugees fleeing war zones.
In a particular way, the Holy Father expressed appreciation for the agreement signed between the Diocese of Rome and Sapienza to open a university humanitarian corridor from the Gaza Strip.
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV noted that, having served as Bishop of Rome for just over a year, he especially desired to meet the university community and, “with a pastor’s heart,” wished to address first the students and then the professors.
Young people and the search for truth
Reflecting on his arrival at the university, the Pope said the avenues of the campus are crossed every day by many young people and marked by “contrasting emotions."
While he acknowledged they likely have some carefree and joyful moments, he recognized that they undoubtedly are likewise troubled by the great injustices around the world.
Amid this reality, the Holy Father said studies, friendships, and encounters with “masters of thought” can transform people for the better even before changing the world around them.
“When the desire for truth becomes a search,” he continued, “our boldness in study bears witness to the hope of a new world.”
St. Augustine made serious mistakes, but never lost his passion for wisdom
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV reminded the students of his spiritual connection to Saint Augustine, his spiritual father, whom he recalled was as “a restless young man” who made serious mistakes, but never lost his passion for beauty and wisdom.
The Pope said he was pleased to receive hundreds of questions from students ahead of the encounter. Lamenting that it would be impossible for him to answer them all, he reminded the students that university chaplaincies exist for this very reason, as places “where faith encounters your questions.”
‘We are not an algorithm’
Turning to the struggles faced by many young people today, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV said “We must not hide from the fact that many young people are suffering.”
The Pope pointed to the “blackmail of expectations” and pressure to perform, calling it “the pervasive lie of a distorted system that reduces people to numbers, exacerbating competitiveness and abandoning us to spirals of anxiety.”
“This spiritual malaise,” he continued, “reminds us that we are not the sum of what we possess, nor matter randomly assembled in a mute cosmos.”
The Holy Father went on to remind the students they are not algorithms and that they possess a special dignity.
Becoming ourselves
Addressing young people directly, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV said modern malaise asks the question: “Who are you?” and said this question is one "we silently pose to God.”
“Becoming ourselves,” he observed, “is the characteristic task of every man’s and every woman’s life.”
““It is the question to which only we ourselves can respond,” he continued, “yet one that we can never answer alone,” stressing that human beings are shaped by our relationships.
‘What kind of world are we leaving behind?’
Turning to older generations, the Pope said the malaise of youth also asks: “What kind of world are we leaving behind?”
The Holy Father lamented that today’s world is “disfigured by wars and by words of war,” describing this as “a pollution of reason” that invades social relationships from the geopolitical level downward…
This report was originally published on the Website of Vatican News. Please click here to read the full text.