ASSISI (Perugia), August 6, 2026 – The Holy Father’s helicopter appears in the sky above Santa Maria degli Angeli a few minutes before 8:45 a.m. It flies over the Papal Basilica of the Porziuncola, the place where Saint Francis understood his vocation and began his fraternity, while thousands of young people from across Europe and numerous countries around the world silently await his arrival. It is the final act of the GO! Franciscan Youth Meeting, the major international gathering promoted in the Year of the Eighth Centenary of the Transitus of Saint Francis, which for four days transformed Assisi into the heart of Franciscan youth.
Greeted by civil, religious, and military authorities, the Holy Father reaches the square in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, slowly walking along the pilgrimage route, stopping several times to greet the young people, families, and the many faithful present. A long round of applause accompanies his entrance into the churchyard, where the meeting with the Meeting participants begins.
He is officially welcomed by the Provincial Minister of the Friars Minor of Umbria and Sardinia, Friar Marco Vianelli, who, on behalf of all the Franciscan Families, extends a warm welcome to the Porziuncola, recalling how this small sanctuary still represents the living memory of the origins of the Franciscan charism. In his greeting, he emphasizes the special significance of the papal visit in the Centenary Year, highlighting how thousands of young people have chosen to listen to the Gospel through themes such as peace, fraternity, mission, economics, identity, and the protection of creation, rediscovering in Francis “a teacher still capable of speaking to the hearts of the new generations.”
A Dialogue with Young People
Before the Eucharistic Celebration, the Holy Father chooses to listen to young people, answering three questions that summarize the great challenges faced during the Meeting.
Karolina, a young Croatian woman raised in Franciscan parishes, asks him how to continue to be credible witnesses of the Gospel in a society marked by war, division, and confusion. Pope Leo XIV recalls that the Franciscan tradition has taught dialogue and reconciliation for centuries, inviting young people to become authentic peacemakers. “Evangelical radicalism,” he states, “is the opposite of fundamentalism: it does not make one blind and violent, but humble and welcoming toward all.” Recalling the Chapter of Mats of 1221, the Pontiff invites young people to preserve that style of fraternity capable of overcoming the noise of war through silence, prayer, and communion.
The second question, posed by John, addresses the theme of vocation and the difficulty of making definitive choices in a culture marked by the temporary. Pope Leo XIV defines “forever” as “the most revolutionary act” of our time, recalling that every vocation is a path to freedom and not a prison. Making a definitive decision means opening oneself to a greater dynamism, allowing oneself to be accompanied by God throughout one’s life.
Finally, Luigi, a young Sicilian Franciscan, asks how to continue to love the Church despite its fragility. The Holy Father invites us to always look to Christ’s desire for his Church, remembering that it continues to be the place where men and women truly become brothers and sisters. Echoing the famous invitation addressed to Saint Francis—”Go and repair my house”—Pope Leo XIV affirms that everyone is still called today to participate in this ongoing process of renewal, speaking of the Church “with the affection with which one speaks of a mother.”
The Eucharist in the Place of the Porziuncola
After the dialogue, the Holy Father presides over the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, concelebrated, among others, by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime.
The Basilica welcomes thousands of young people, friars, nuns, and pilgrims, while many others participate from outside, following the celebration through the large screens set up in the churchyard.
In his homily, delivered on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, Pope Leo XIV proposes Assisi as a place where “life can change shape, radiate light, repair the world.” Francis and Clare are described as young people who have embraced the Gospel “without compromise,” allowing themselves to be transformed by the presence of Christ.
Reflecting on the experience of the Meeting, the Pontiff emphasizes how the days spent together taught the young people “the art of conversation,” moving from the din of many voices to mutual listening, the true path to discerning God’s will and building new relationships.
The heart of the homily is the missionary invitation encapsulated in the very title of the meeting: “Go!” “Go! Better yet: let’s go! Let’s go!”, exhorts the Holy Father, inviting young people to reach the peripheries of existence, where human dignity is wounded by injustice, war, and indifference. He encourages them to embrace the evangelical poverty of Saint Francis, to become peacemakers and builders of the “civilization of love,” recalling that the world continues to await new saints capable of making the Gospel visible in daily life.
The Missionary Charter
At the end of the celebration, the young people are presented with the GO! Missionary Charter, the fruit of the work done in the workshops and laboratories that characterized the previous days.
The document brings together the commitments that emerged from the shared listening of over 2,500 young people from across Europe and the world: choosing the silence that listens, building fraternity, protecting creation, living authentic relationships, promoting the responsible use of technology, recognizing beauty as a path to evangelization, having courage in our choices, loving humanity’s wounds, and starting over from Assisi as credible witnesses of the Gospel. This is a true missionary commitment that will accompany the participants upon their return to their local Churches, so that what they experienced in Assisi will continue to generate fraternity in their various countries.
The greetings of the young people and the gift of the Porziuncola
Finally, Francesco Varrone, a young man from Ponte Felcino, a member of the Porziuncola Choir and a collaborator with the Youth Orientation Service of Assisi, spoke on behalf of all the participants. He thanked the Holy Father on behalf of the thousands of young people present, assuring them of their commitment to safeguarding and bearing witness to what they have received during these days.
At the conclusion of the celebration, the Custos of the Porziuncola, Friar Massimo Travascio, presented the Pontiff with the gift prepared by the Franciscan community as a sign of gratitude for his presence in this Jubilee and Franciscan Year.
The GO! Franciscan Youth Meeting 2026 concludes with the Holy Father’s final blessing. What, following in the footsteps of the Chapter of Mats in 1221, began as a pilgrimage of young people to Assisi is now transformed into a mission. The streets of Europe and the world become the place where we continue to live out what was experienced at the Porziuncola: making the Gospel a way of life, fraternity a way of life, and peace a mission.
