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Illustration:Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio, 1601
Pope Francis’ message for the 62nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations [11 May 2025]
Rome, Gemelli Hospital, 19 March 2025.
Pilgrims of Hope: the Gift of Life
“Your youth is not an ‘in-between time.’ You are the NOW of God!”
Dear sisters and brothers,
I would like to extend to you a joyful and encouraging invitation to become pilgrims of hope by generously offering your lives as a gift on the 62nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
A vocation is a precious gift that God sows in our hearts, a call to leave ourselves behind and embark on a journey of love and service.
Every vocation in the Church, whether lay, ordained or consecrated, is a sign of the hope that God has for this world and for each of his children.
Today, many young people feel dismayed as they look to the future.
hey often feel insecure about their employment prospects and are experiencing a profound identity crisis, a crisis of meaning and values, exacerbated by the confusing messages of the digital world.
The unjust treatment of the poor and vulnerable, the indifference of a complacent and self-centered society, and the brutality of war all threaten the hopes for a fulfilling life that young people carry in their hearts.
But the Lord, who knows the human heart, does not abandon us in our uncertainty.
He wants us to know that we are loved, called and sent as pilgrims of hope.
We, the adult members of the Church, and especially the priests, are called to recognize, discern and accompany young people on their vocational journey.
For your part, you young people are called to embark on this journey together with the Holy Spirit, who awakens in you the desire to make your life a gift of love.
Welcoming our specific vocation
Dear young people, “Your youth is not an ‘in-between time.’ You are the NOW of God!”
Recognize that the gift of life demands a generous and faithful response.
Look to the young saints and blessed who have joyfully responded to the Lord’s call:
St. Rose of Lima, St. Dominic Savio, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, the soon-to-be saints Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, and many others.
They experienced their vocation as a path to true happiness through friendship with the Risen Lord.
Whenever we listen to the words of Jesus, our hearts burn within us (Lk 24:32 – “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?) and we feel the desire to consecrate our lives to God.
Naturally, we want to find the way of life that will best enable us to reciprocate the love with which he first loved us.
Every vocation, once perceived in the depths of the heart, gives rise to an impulse to love and service, as an expression of hope and charity, rather than as a means of self-promotion.
Vocation and hope go together in God’s plan for the happiness of every man and woman, all of whom are called by name to give their lives for others.
Many young people seek to discern the path to which God is calling them.
Some find, often to their surprise, that they are called to the priesthood or consecrated life.
Others discover the beauty of the call to marriage and family life, to the pursuit of the common good and to a life of witnessing to the faith among their friends and acquaintances.
Every vocation is inspired by hope, characterized by a confident trust in God’s providence.
For Christians, hope is more than mere human optimism.
It is a certainty based on our faith in God, who is at work in each of our lives.
Vocations mature through the daily effort to be faithful to the Gospel, and through prayer, discernment and service.
Dear young friends, hope in God does not disappoint, because he accompanies those who entrust their lives to him, at every step of the way.
Our world needs young people who are pilgrims of hope, who courageously dedicate their lives to Christ and who rejoice in being his disciples and missionaries.
Discerning our vocational path
The discovery of our vocation comes about as the result of a journey of discernment. This journey is never solitary. It develops within and as part of a Christian community.
Dear friends, the world urges you to make hasty decisions and bombards you with a constant noise that prevents you from experiencing a silence that is open to God who speaks to the heart.
Have the courage to pause, to listen to what your heart is telling you, and ask God about His dreams for you.
The silence of prayer is indispensable if we are to learn how to hear God’s call in the midst of the specific circumstances of our lives and to respond consciously and freely.
Prayerful recollection helps us to realize that we can all be pilgrims of hope if we make our lives a gift, especially by placing ourselves at the service of those who live on the material and existential margins of the world.
Those who respond to God’s call cannot turn a deaf ear to the cry of so many of our brothers and sisters who feel excluded, wounded and abandoned.
Every vocation confirms us in our mission to be the presence of Christ’s where light and comfort are most needed.
In a special way, the lay faithful are called to be the “salt, light and leaven” of the Kingdom of God through their social and professional commitments.
Accompanying vocations
Consequently, pastoral agents and vocation directors, especially spiritual directors, should willingly accompany young people with the hope, patience and trust that reflect God’s own “pedagogy.”
They should be able to listen to them with respect and compassion, o present themselves as trustworthy, wise and helpful guides, always attentive to discern the signs of God’s presence in their journey.
I urge that every effort be made to promote vocations in the various spheres of human life and activity, and to help people to be spiritually open to the voice of the Lord.
It is important, therefore, that an adequate place be given to the vocational accompaniment in educational and pastoral planning.
The Church needs pastors, religious, missionaries and spouses who are able to say “yes” to the Lord with trust and hope.
A vocation is never a treasure kept in the heart.
It grows and is strengthened in a community that believes, loves and hopes.
No one can respond to God’s call alone, for we all need the prayers and support of our brothers and sisters.
Dearly beloved, the Church is alive and fruitful when she generates new vocations.
Our world is looking, often unconsciously, for witnesses of hope who proclaim with their lives that following Christ is a source of true joy.
Let us therefore, never tire of asking the Lord for new laborers for his harvest, in the certainty that He will continue to call them with great love.
Dear young people, I entrust your efforts to follow the Lord to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church and Mother of vocations.
Continue as pilgrims of hope on the path of the Gospel!
I accompany you with my blessing and I ask you to pray for me.
Footnote: Luke 24:20-32
They drew near to the village of Emmaus to which they were going.
He appeared to be going further, but they constrained him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight.
They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?”
