August 2026
We publish the editorial by our President, Bernhard Scholz, from the August issue of Meeting News (photo: Vatican Media).
In just a few days, the Meeting will have the privilege of welcoming Pope Leo XIV. For all of us, his visit is a source of profound gratitude and immense joy. It will be an invaluable opportunity to meet him and listen to him. It will also be an opportunity to rediscover the very reason why the Meeting was founded and continues to exist.
For this reason, we want to welcome the Pope in the best possible way: by listening, almost stepping aside, to make room for his presence. We hope that everything we have prepared – meetings, exhibitions, performances, and the work of thousands of volunteers – may become a place where we can listen to his voice and allow ourselves to be challenged by his witness.
I am particularly pleased that the Holy Father will have the opportunity to meet the people of the Meeting. He will make his way through the entire exhibition centre, meeting Meeting participants along the route, and will visit the Children’s Village before entering the Grand Auditorium. To enable everyone to experience the Pope’s visit to the fullest, the entire Meeting programme will pause on the afternoon of 22 August. The encounter in the Grand Auditorium will be broadcast live throughout all the Meeting venues.
Several events at the Meeting will take up the themes Pope Leo has entrusted to us in his great encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. Following the Holy Father’s reflections and suggestions, we want to bring back to the centre of our attention the affirmation of the greatness of the human person and human dignity. We want to deepen our awareness that what we perceive as a limitation is, in its very essence, an openness to the infinite. We will highlight two fundamental aspects of the encyclical whose importance is too often overlooked: education to freedom and responsibility, and the meaning of work. The impact of artificial intelligence will also be explored from different perspectives in dedicated meetings.
Being able to face the great challenges of our time with the guidance of the Holy Father is a source of great comfort and support. Our gratitude for his closeness makes our anticipation of his presence at the Meeting – and of the words he will share with us – even greater.
