"Christ is alive!" and is the foundation of hope for us and for all humanity

On 25 March 2019, in the Holy House of Loreto, Pope Francis signed the Post-Synodal Exhortation Christus Vivit, a 'letter' to young people that encapsulated the work of the Synod of Bishops on Young People which was held in the Vatican in October 2018. The Synod was preceded, for the first time, by a pre-synod which involved young participants from all over the world, and by reflections made collaboratively by local Churches and representatives of younger generations.

Today, on the fifth anniversary of Christus Vivit, the Holy Father once again addresses young people with a newly published message: “Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive! This certainty always makes my heart overflow with joy, and now it inspires me to write you this Message, five years after the publication of the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit, the fruit of the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that had as its theme: ‘Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment’.”

At the beginning of Holy Week, the Pontiff's words are an invitation to live with Christ in the days leading up to the Easter Resurrection: “He gave his life for you, so in his love for you he does not wait for you to be perfect. Look at his arms outstretched on the cross, and ‘let yourself be saved over and over again’.”

The Power of Encountering Christ

The powerful call to mission that ignites from an encounter with Christ has been the source of life for World Youth Days in past years. In his message, Pope Francis reminds us of the beginning of this journey, the first gathering of young people that took place in Rome forty years ago: “On 14 April 2024, we will mark the fortieth anniversary of the first great gathering of young people that, in the midst of the Holy Year of the Redemption, was the seed of the future World Youth Days.”

A Synodal Church in Mission

The Synod of Young People which took place five years ago was a “genuine ‘synodal experience’; it bore great fruit and prepared the way for a new Synod, which we are celebrating now, in these years, precisely on the subject of synodality”. Inspired by this wake of a Synodal Church, the invitation is to continue living and sharing the message of the Risen Christ to all.

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To celebrate this important anniversary, the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life is supporting a social campaign that, from 25 February to 25 April, is posted on the official social media accounts of World Youth Day. Available in many languages, this project can be adopted by various bodies of the local Churches that wish to provide a spiritual reflection that reaches young people through social networks and that wish to emphasise youth ministry in the light of Christus Vivit.