The question of whether the pope has the capacity to connect with the crowds was largely put to rest this past week as Leo received an enthusiastic welcome from a million young people.

The Holy Father was greeted Aug. 2 by joyous crowds on the 237-acre grounds of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, 10 miles east of Rome, where teenagers and young adults will stay all night in anticipation of the closing Mass of the Jubilee of Youth on Sunday morning.

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday told more than a million Catholic youths at a closing Mass for a weeklong encounter with the next generation of faithful that they are “the sign that a different world is possible” where conflicts can be resolved with dialogue, not weapons.