Leo XIV receives YOUCAT Love Forever and encourages young people to live a love that lasts

A special moment with Pope Leo XIV

The day after the international launch of YOUCAT Love Forever in Rome, the Catholic Church’s new resource was placed in the hands of Pope Leo XIV. During the general audience on 7 October, the Holy Father greeted a delegation involved in the project. Its members personally presented him with the book, which draws on questions, experiences and testimonies from young people in more than 30 countries.

The meeting continued an initiative that began with a request from young people themselves. Over several years, the project has sought to develop catechesis on love, relationships, sexuality and marriage in the light of the Catholic faith.

The initiative also reflects one of the tasks Leo XIV has highlighted when speaking about the Church’s mission in the contemporary world: helping people pause and reflect on life’s deepest questions, including the meaning of love. YOUCAT Love Forever grew out of precisely this willingness to listen to young people seeking answers about how to love, how to live their relationships and how to build a love that can endure.

The presentation of the book has particular significance because YOUCAT Love Forever includes a foreword written by Leo XIV. In it, the Pope speaks directly to young people, beginning with a deeply human experience: the desire to find a love that is true, deep and lasting.

Love as a gift, a decision and a journey

‘Your hearts are yearning for love.’ These words open Leo XIV’s foreword, following his greeting to young people. For the Pope, this desire for a deep love, capable of giving itself, is no accident: it is a sign that we were made for love.

But love cannot be reduced to the excitement of its beginnings. Although a relationship between a man and a woman may begin with great intensity, true love is called to go further. As the foreword puts it: ‘It is a resounding Yes to the other, a decision, a path, and a lifelong covenant.’

This is why Leo XIV speaks of trust, self-giving, fidelity and forgiveness. Human love can be transformed by God’s love and become service and generous self-giving. Marriage thus becomes a place where the mystery of God’s love can be made visible.

‘Forever’ is presented as the horizon of a relationship founded on trust and called to grow throughout life, rather than as a burden. This perspective connects directly with the purpose of YOUCAT Love Forever: helping young people discover that loving also means learning to remain faithful, to commit themselves and to give of themselves.

‘How can I love as Christ loved?’

At the heart of the message is a question Leo XIV puts to young people: ‘How can I love as Christ loved?’ It changes the perspective from which we view relationships. Instead of asking ‘What do I get?’, the Pope invites us to put self-giving first.

Looking to Christ leads the Pope to the Cross, where he finds the clearest image of true love: a love that gives itself to the very end. Christ’s commandment — to love as he has loved us — thus becomes the measure of a vocation that calls for love freely given, fidelity and a willingness to make sacrifices.

Leo XIV also recognises that love is called to grow amid difficulties. This is a journey open to imperfect relationships: faith helps us overcome our limitations, learn to forgive and seek the good of the other person each day.

YOUCAT Love Forever therefore seeks to accompany young people both in preparing for marriage and in discovering a broader vocation: the vocation to love. The book brings together testimonies from young people in more than 30 countries, making their questions and experiences part of an international conversation about love and life.

The foreword closes with an image that sums up this journey: the book seeks to prepare readers for ‘a Yes that will last not for a day but for a lifetime’, a yes that reflects God’s faithful and enduring love. Leo XIV thus encourages young people not to fear the depths of love, but to respond with trust and courage to the vocation to love.

The presentation of YOUCAT Love Forever to the Pope at the audience on 7 October connects two important moments in the project: the international launch in Rome on 6 October and this meeting with Leo XIV. Born of questions from young people around the world, the book now reaches the Holy Father’s hands with an invitation that runs throughout his foreword: do not be afraid to love deeply, and learn to live that love for a lifetime.