A Catholic high schooler from California recently shared about his reaction to becoming one of the few teens who was chosen to ask Pope Leo XIV a question via livestream at a youth conference on Nov. 21.
Ezequiel Ponce, 17, told Angelus News in a Nov. 18 report that he was at school when he received the email informing him he was chosen to be one of the teens for the historic National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) event, held this year at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
“I was absolutely ecstatic,” Ponce told the outlet.
Recalling being in class at the time, Ponce said, “I get the email, and my jaw drops. It’s the only thing I could think about. I remember telling my parents and they were super excited for me.”
NCYC organizers asked JC Montenegro, the youth ministry coordinator at St. Dominic Church in Bellflower, California, if he knew any teens who could help discern good questions to ask Pope Leo, according to the outlet. Montenegro recommended Ponce, and for the next several months, Ponce joined about 40 other teens across the nation to work on the task and discuss issues facing young people today.
NCYC organizers eventually chose five speakers and three alternates from the 40 participating teens to ask Pope Leo questions.
Ponce is a dedicated volunteer in his parish community, even serving as the head counselor at his church’s summer camp, according to Angelus News.
Speaking to the outlet, Montenegro described the young parishioner as “insightful,” “committed,” and “always there to help others,” praising his inclination to leadership.
Up to 15,000 youth may be in attendance at the livestream for the NCYC event, as CatholicVote previously reported.
Ponce told Angelus News that he appreciates Pope Leo’s care for young people.
“I honestly have been amazed on how much the pope genuinely wants to engage in dialogue,” he said.
Since his papal election in May, Pope Leo has shown his heart and concern for young people, addressing them directly on several occasions. At times, he has reflected on the ailments faced acutely by younger generations — such as technology-worsened isolation and depression — and encouraged remedies such as logging off social media and fostering real relationships.
“You know that in recent years many young people have approached the faith through social media, successful programs and popular online Christian witnesses,” Pope Leo said in late October during a special audience with young people at the Vatican. “The danger is that a faith discovered online is limited to individual experiences, which may be intellectually and emotionally reassuring, but are never ‘embodied.’ Such experiences remain ‘disembodied,’ detached from the ‘ecclesial body.’”
He encouraged young people to seek community in real life, fostering relationships with others and living the faith not in isolation.
In June, he used his first video address to the faithful in the U.S. to speak directly to young people.
He invited them to look within their own hearts and see “that God is present, and that perhaps in many different ways, God is reaching out to you, calling you, inviting you to know His Son, Jesus Christ,” through the Bible, loved ones, and people of faith.
In late July, Pope Leo surprised more than 120,000 young Catholics gathered for the Jubilee of Youth in St. Peter’s Square by making an unscheduled address and visit via the popemobile.
Days later, in early August, Pope Leo presided over the closing Mass, attended by more than one million young Catholics, for the Jubilee of Youth.
In his homily, the Pontiff urged the youth to pursue friendship with Christ, and to “aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are,” rather than to “settle for less.”
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