Pope Francis speaking to participants of an Italian youth camp on August 5, 2022 / Vatican media

CNA Newsroom, Aug 5, 2022 / 07:13 am (CNA).

Pope Francis told young Catholics on Friday that Jesus is not just a moral precept but a person and a great friend. 

He encouraged them to build and cultivate their relationship with Christ as Blessed Carlo Acutis did. 

The first millennial to be beatified by the Catholic Church, Carlo Acutis loved the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. “To be always united with Jesus, this is my life program,” he wrote at the age of seven. 

Speaking to participants of an Italian youth camp in an audience on August 5 at the Vatican, the pontiff reminded them of the message from Christus Vivit, a post-synodal exhortation published in 2019: ”’Christ is alive and He wants you to be alive!”

Jesus is therefore the person a young Catholic should turn to, the pope explained. 

“We are in the presence of Jesus, Who knows us and loves us more than we do ourselves, and Who wants each of us to find his or her own unique, personal fulfilment.”

Pope Francis concluded his remarks with a prayer. “I leave you with this hope and prayer: may Jesus become your great Friend, your Companion along the way. May the living Jesus become your life! Every day and forever.”

Alpha Camp is a “Church-sponsored week-long camp for young people in Central Italy, dedicated to exploring life, faith and meaning,” Vatican News reported.