April 29, 2025 // Diocese

Pope Touched Hearts of Locals at World Youth Days

Clare Hildebrandt

Reporter

Picture this: The sun is shining as you watch a man in white garb step out onto the podium. From the crowd comes a faint whisper that culminates into a loud chant: “We are the youth of the pope! We are the youth of the pope!”

This was Maddie Kindler’s experience at World Youth Day in the fields of Lisbon in the summer of 2023. 

As a young adult Catholic in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Kindler is just one of many who have witnessed the influence of Pope Francis on the youth. Kindler and others shared memories of Pope Francis and their experiences at various World Youth Days with Today’s Catholic.

2023 – Lisbon, Portugal

“When we welcomed Pope Francis when he first came to Lisbon, I think that phrase [“We are the youth of the pope!”] was chanted for about 10 minutes straight. It was the big kickoff welcoming Pope Francis into Portugal, and there were hundreds of thousands of people ready for him,” Kindler explained.

It was when Pope Francis addressed the crowd that Kindler’s heart was touched. When preaching, the Holy Father emphasized the value of every person in God’s eyes. 

“One thing I remember him saying was, ‘To God, you are never just a number. You are an individual and made in his image,’” said Kindler, a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in New Haven who teaches music at St. Rose of Lima Catholic School in Monroeville.

“It felt as if he was talking to each of us individually,” Kindler said. “So, it truly reminds you that, even though there are millions of people out there and millions of people who are members of the Catholic Church, God knew us when we were created, and to Him, we are special.”

Caleb Perkins, a Fort Wayne native and co-founder of the music apostolate Shema Culture, also attended World Youth Day in Portugal.

Perkins, the praise team coordinator and a youth ministry assistant at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Fort Wayne, was encouraged to submit a testimony to be shared during the Way of the Cross event in Lisbon. Though he thought it was a long shot, the testimony of his drug abuse and conversion was chosen to be shown to the hundreds of thousands of people gathered.

“There’s no way. … It is one in a million,” Perkins originally thought. “They wanted someone to share their testimony with a past of struggling with addictions, and someone told me I should put my name in.”

“They played it during the prayer, and we were able to stand on the stage to watch, which was the same stage that Pope Francis was sitting on,” he told Today’s Catholic.

Afterwards, Pope Francis wanted to personally thank Perkins and his wife, Natali.

“He waved everyone to come up … everyone who gave their testimony,” Perkins said. “My wife and I were able to meet him. I shook his hand. He thanked me for sharing my testimony. He gave us both rosaries and then chuckled at how noisy the crowd was. It was amazing,” Perkins continued.

“He gave us a blessing over our marriage and said, ‘Please pray for me.’”

For Perkins and his wife, Pope Francis’ humility was most noticeable.

“When we met him, you could see his humility and simplicity. Being a convert and coming into the Church, I really appreciate his effort to preach and actually live the Gospel.”

Perkins continued: “Pope Francis often taught the faithful to seek a personal relationship with Christ. Much of the language he uses draws me in. I really appreciate that, and I think his legacy will be that he will be known as the Pope of Mercy,” he concluded. 

2019 – Panama City, Panama

For Olivia Warden, encountering Pope Francis transformed her faith.

‘He becomes a real person when you see him,” said Warden, whose family are parishioners at St. Louis Besancon Catholic Church in New Haven, and who will graduate from the nursing program at Purdue University later this month. “He is not just some idea in your head or some figure sitting in St. Peter’s chair. He is a real human person,” she said.

She added: “He actually wanted to spend time with young people. One of the most well-known people in the world truly wanted to spend time with young adults. It was so exciting.”

The pontiff’s call to show mercy and love in the world inspired Warden.

“He just has this ability to love everyone,” Warden said. “No matter your sins or political beliefs, you are loved because Jesus loves you. This is now how I also try to live my life. Everyone argues all the time about the Church, but like Pope Francis said, the best way is to love.”

2016 – Krakow, Poland

Father Patrick Briscoe, a Dominican priest who grew up in Fort Wayne and now serves as editor of Our Sunday Visitor magazine, attended World Youth Day in Poland during the Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2016.

Newly ordained, one of Father Briscoe’s first assignments was assisting the Knights of Columbus with World Youth Day preparations.

“I lived the early days of my priesthood in Poland, all working toward World Youth Day,” said the host of the “Godsplaining” podcast. “Because of this, the very beginning of my priesthood was shaped by serving young people and the great teachings of mercy.

During World Youth Day, Father Briscoe “assisted the [Pope] on stage during his final event. It was very moving.”

Father Briscoe said hearing Pope Francis preaching on mercy in Poland has had a profound impact on his priesthood.

“Years later, I would assist Ukrainian refugees crossing the border into Poland, which was our expression of living that mercy that Pope Francis had expressed during World Youth Day.”

Clare Hildebrandt is a staff writer for Today’s Catholic.