During twelve years of his pontificate, Pope Francis has presided over four World Youth Day vigils.. In Rio, Krakow, Panama and Lisbon, he spoke to the hearts of millions of young people with simple, prophetic and profoundly human words. For many, these meetings were the most important spiritual experience of their lives 
. And in all those vigils, the Augustinian Recollect Youth (Augustinian Recollect Youth) were present were present, incarnating the joy of the Gospel and the spirituality of St. Augustine in every corner of the world. Today, as we look back, we remember not only a pontiff, but a shepherd who sowed hope in every corner of the world. shepherd who sowed hope in the hearts of a generation..
2013 | Rio de Janeiro: “Don’t balcony life” : “Don’t balcony life”.
In his first great meeting with the youth of the world, Francis inaugurated a new way of being Pope: close, direct, pastoral and profoundly evangelical.. On Copacabana beach, under a rain that did not dampen the enthusiasm, invited a generation to stop being spectators and become protagonists of the Kingdom..
“Don’t balcony life, get into it as Jesus did.”
He spoke of the “Field of Faith”, not as a physical place, but as an existential space: a field where the Word is sown, where the heart is trained, where the Church is built. His words were not abstract: they called to make decisions, to commit oneself, to stake one’s life on something great..
It was also the first time that the Augustinian Recollect Youth (JAR) lived a vigil with Francis. In the Marian city of Rio, so close to the Latin American soul, young people from many countries shared the joy of faith, the charism of St. Augustine and the dream of a young Church going forth.. For many, that night was not an event, but a turning point: a vocation was born, a wound was healed, a hope was renewed..
2016 | Krakow: “Exchange the sofa for some shoes”.
In the land of St. John Paul II, Pope Francis deepened the message deepened the message and raised the demand for youthful discipleship.. In front of thousands of pilgrims at Campus Misericordiae, he denounced one of the great temptations of our time: comfort as a form of spiritual anesthesia.
“This time does not need young people-sofa… but young people with shoes, with booties on.”
Francis addressed with force and tenderness those who live trapped in comfort, numbed by consumption, indifferent to the pain of others. And then he launched one of his most memorable phrases, which would mark the heart of his youthful pontificate:
“In the art of ascending, what matters is not not to fall, but not to remain fallen.”
The Augustinian Recollect Youth was there againThe Augustinian Recollect Youth was there again, with backpacks full of illusion and banners that spoke of interiority, community and mission. Young Augustinian Recollects mingled among thousands, but they brought something distinctive: the desire to live in communion, to build bridges and to form community wherever they went.. Krakow was, for many, the place where faith became a decision, and the “yes” to the Gospel began to take shape.
2019 | PanamaPanama: “Only what is loved can be saved”.
In the human and spiritual warmth of Central America, Pope Francis touched the wounded and hopeful hearts of the youth of the continent and of the entire world. touched the wounded and hopeful hearts of the young people of the continent and of the whole world. His message revolved around Mary, her bold “let there be”, and the transforming tenderness of God.
“Only what is loved can be saved. Only what is embraced can be transformed.”
Francis courageously confronted the culture of discarding and abandonment of youth. He asked with pain:
“What roots are we giving young people?”
It was a vigil marked by real testimonies: young people who have suffered exclusion, illness and disability. And there, once again the JAR was present. Young people from different countries brought their testimony of fraternity and faith, and discovered that love is not selective, that dignity is found even in the deepest wounds, and that dignity is found in the deepest wounds. dignity is found even in the deepest wounds, and that the Church is called to embrace as Jesus did..
2023 | LisbonThe joy is missionary” : “Joy is missionary”.
In Lisbon, Francis once again met with the youth of the world. With the tenderness that characterized him from the first day of his pontificate, he offered a message full of hope, realism and love. His serene and firm voice was raised once again to remind everyone that the Gospel is an invitation to set out on the road, to get up, to run with others.
“The only time it is lawful to look down on someone from above is to help them up.”
To those who had fallen – like so many who live today without a horizon – he spoke with compassion and truth:
“Do not stay down. Rise up. Walk. Train yourselves. And go out to meet the world with the only free thing we have: the love of Jesus.”
The Augustinian Recollect Youth lived this vigil with emotion and depth, surrounded by thousands of young people in a deeply spiritual atmosphere.surrounded by thousands of young people and enveloped in a deeply spiritual atmosphere. It was a night to look back with gratitude and forward with commitment. It was a night to renew our “yes” to the Gospel, with our feet on the ground and our hearts in heaven. Lisbon did not close a stage: it ignited it.
A permanent Easter vigil
Francis not only preached at the vigils. He lived them with the soul of a shepherd who walks by night beside his people, who knows the darkness of the world and the faint glow of the first lights.who knows the darkness of the world and the faint glow of the first lights. Throughout his pontificate, he made of each vigil a pedagogy of love and hope.A school of humanity where we learned that God reveals himself in the fall, in the question, in the embrace, in the decision to begin again.
In Lisbon, with a slower pace and a mature voice, he left us what we recognize today as his spiritual testament, he left us what we recognize today as his spiritual testament.A call to get up, to train ourselves in love, to go out without fear, to run. But above all, to run with others. Because Francis, to the end, believed in the we.
And in his last homily, a few days before leaving for the Father’s house, the same music resounded loudly, resounded loudly the same music that he gave us so many times under the open sky of the vigils:
“Let us run to meet Jesus, let us rediscover the inestimable grace of being his friends. With you, Lord, everything is new. With you, everything begins anew.”
“Let us run to meet Jesus, let us rediscover the inestimable grace of being his friends. With you, Lord, everything is new. With you, everything begins anew.”A sentence that does not close, but opens. Like the empty tomb.
As the story of a generation that, with Francis, learned to live on its feet, with its eyes open and its heart on fire..