Carmen Álvarez Cuadrado
Pope Leo XIV is keeping his promise to return to Assisi. It will be the second time the pope visits St. Francis' homeland.
The pope first went in November 2025 to conclude the General Assembly of the Italian Bishops' Conference.
Nine months later, he is back again, but for a different reason. Pope Leo will close the Go! Franciscan Youth Meeting where more than 2,000 young people await him.
MARINA ROSATI
Spokesperson, Archdiocese of Assisi
We felt it was important to put young people at the center so they were key participants. As I mentioned, over these two days, young people are taking part in a full immersion experience of the city of St. Francis. There are moments of prayer, of sharing and reflections on everything that defines the Franciscan vision in all its aspects: creation, peace, dialogue and at various Franciscan sites.
The pope will close with a Mass at Santa Maria degli Angeli, the birthplace of the Franciscan movement. Inside the basilica is the chapel where the saint heard God's call.
St. Francis was a wealthy young man who renounced his inheritance and gave up everything to live in poverty.
MARINA ROSATI
Spokesperson, Archdiocese of Assisi
It was 1206, so he was a 21 year old who had obviously been contemplating this radical and extraordinary act of his. It didn't happen suddenly, but was a journey that changed his life, the life of this city, and the life of humanity as a whole. So, getting to know a young man who was able to put the Gospel at the center of his life and, above all, to build a community, a brotherhood, like the one Francis built and has since developed trough his followers, is truly important.
And if there is another young man who has changed the lives of many, it is St. Carlo Acutis, whose remains are also in Assisi. Pope Leo's itinerary doesn't include a visit to him, but it is hoped that he will be mentioned the pope's speech.
MARINA ROSATI
I think so, because the pope couldn't do otherwise, he was the one who canonized him on September 7th last year. He's a role model, an example, a young person of our times, a young man like Francis. Two young people, actually, that's why they are two role models who fit well into the perspective of evangelization. From Francis 800 years ago, a giant and a true alter Christus, to Carlo, who, at the same time in this world, also stripped himself of wordly things. He definitely lived out the Franciscan charism in a different way, of course.
The Basilica of St. Francis, the most famous in Assisi, isn't on the pope's itinerary either, despite being the site that houses the saint's remains. They were put on special display during the Jubilee Year to commemorate the 800th anniversary of his death.
