Pope Leo XIV announced Nov. 19 during his General Audience that the second-ever World Children’s Day will be held in September 2026, continuing a celebration first observed by Pope Francis in 2024.
According to a Nov. 19 press release from World Children’s Day, the occasion “will be a time of gathering, prayer and celebration involving children and their families from all over the world.”
The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life is promoting the event, which will be held in Rome Sept. 25-27, 2026, according to the release.
Pope Leo said at the audience that meeting the children at the event next year will be a joy. After the Holy Father announced the dates, Father Enzo Fortunato — the coordinator of the first World Children’s Day – and Majd Bernard, a 7-year-old from Gaza, presented Pope Leo with the flag bearing the official logo of the second World Children’s Day, according to the release. Pope Leo blessed and signed the flag.
“Children and their families will spend days filled with listening and sharing,” Fr. Fortunato said in the release. “Together with Pope Leo, we will proclaim that a better future is possible.”
According to Vatican News, about 100,000 children attended the first World Children’s Day in May 2024.
In Pope Francis’ address for that event, which was published in advance, he told the children attending that “as the Bible teaches us, and as Jesus showed so often, ‘you are precious’ in God’s eyes (Is 43:4).” He encouraged the children to value friendship, practice gratitude and generosity, and remain united with Jesus.
“If we really want to be happy, we need to pray, to pray a lot, to pray every day, because prayer connects us directly to God,” Pope Francis said. “Prayer fills our hearts with light and warmth; it helps us to do everything with confidence and peace of mind.
“Jesus constantly prayed to the Father. Do you know what Jesus called him? In his language, he simply called him ‘Abba’, which means ‘Daddy’ (cf. Mk 14:36). Let’s do the same thing! We will always feel that Jesus is close to us. He himself promised us that, when he said, ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Mt 18:20).”
The pontiff asked the children to prepare for World Children’s Day by praying the Our Father every morning and every evening with their families, reflecting on the words.
“He is calling us and he wants us to join actively with him, on this World Children’s Day, to become builders of a new, more humane, just and peaceful world,” Pope Francis said. “Jesus, who offered himself on the Cross to gather all of us together in love, who conquered death and reconciled us with the Father, wants to continue his work in the Church through us.”
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