Skip to content

Pope Francis tells young people ‘learn how to listen’ in video published after death

In a video message published after his death, but recorded in January, Pope Francis encouraged young people to work on listening well to others.

In a video message published after his death, but recorded in January, Pope Francis encouraged young people to work on listening well to others.

The video, shared by the Italian weekly magazine “Oggi,” was made public one day after the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, who died at the Vatican on April 21. 

In the video, recorded on Jan. 8, Pope Francis addressed a group of teens and young adults participating in “Listening Workshops,” an initiative started by the Italian Luca Drusian.

According to Vatican Media, the idea behind the workshops is for young people to discuss different topics while experiencing the beauty of both listening to others and being heard.

“Dear boys and girls, one of the most important things in life is to listen — to learn how to listen,” Francis said in the recording, taken in his Santa Marta residence.

“When someone speaks to you, wait for them to finish so you can really understand, and then, if you feel like it, respond. But the important thing is to listen,” he said, explaining they should not rush to give an answer.

The pope said, “look closely at people — people don’t listen. Halfway through an explanation, they’ll answer, and that doesn’t help peace. Listen — listen a lot,” he urged.

Francis also told young people to listen to their grandparents, who “teach us so much.”

The posthumous papal message was made public as an estimated 200,000 people, many of them teenagers, attended Mass in St. Peter’s Square on the morning of April 27.

The Mass was celebrated both as part of the Church’s second day of the “novendiales,” nine days of mourning, for Pope Francis, and as part of the Jubilee of Teenagers, which took place in Rome April 25-27.

The day after the late pope’s funeral and burial, tens of thousands of people visited his tomb in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. In the afternoon, Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, led vespers in a packed basilica. The College of Cardinals also attended.

This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER HERE

Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today

Share

Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican

Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter.

More news related to this article

Pope Leo XIV: Summer is a time to savor prayerful moments with God

Pope Leo XIV encouraged people on Sunday to embrace the summer season as a time to deepen their relationship with God through silence, reflection, and time spent with others.

What Pope Francis had to say about the Synod on Synodality in the in-flight press conference

Pope Francis outlined his vision for the upcoming synodal assembly in October, which he said should be a prayerful exercise in dialogue free from ideology,

Is the Next Pope at the Synod?

ANALYSIS: Roughly half of all cardinal-electors are currently in Rome, making the Synod on Synodality something of a prelude to a future conclave.

Embracing Destiny: Nathan’s Journey from Pope’s Arms to Seminary Vows

Ten years after embracing Pope Francis, Nathan de Brito finds his calling in the seminary, driven by the memory of a transformative moment

Ahead of synod, prominent prelates publish on ‘LGBTQ issues’

Just days after organizers of the second session of the Synod on Synodality in October said topics were not the focus of discussions, two prominent participants have publicly weighed in on the question of Catholics identifying as LGBTQ.

Pope Francis says he did not lose consciousness before hospitalization in March

Pope Francis said on board the papal plane on Sunday that he did not lose consciousness before his

LIVE
FROM THE VATICAN

Be present live on EWTN.it