Good Shepherd Sunday – 11 May 2025
The final message of Pope Francis, issued just days before his peaceful passing on Easter Monday, has now been released for the 62nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations, taking place on Good Shepherd Sunday, 11 May 2025.
Titled “Pilgrims of Hope: The Gift of Life”, the Pope’s message is a deeply personal and powerful invitation to all members of the Church—especially young people—to listen for God’s call and respond with courage, generosity, and joy.
A World in Need of Hope
Acknowledging the many challenges facing young people today—uncertainty about the future, social isolation, identity struggles, and the noise of the digital age—Pope Francis reassured them: “The Lord… wants us to know that we are loved, called, and sent as pilgrims of hope.”
He reminded the Church that every vocation—whether to priesthood, religious life, marriage, or lay service—is a precious gift from God and a source of true fulfilment when lived in love and service.
Encouragement for Young People
“You are the now of God,” Pope Francis affirmed, echoing his earlier exhortation Christus Vivit. He pointed to young saints and blesseds like Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati—both soon to be canonised—as models of how joyful holiness and friendship with Jesus can transform lives.
He urged young people to take time for prayer and silence, to ask God what His dreams are for them, and to embrace a path that makes their life a gift for others.
The Role of the Church
Pope Francis called on priests, pastoral ministers, and the wider Christian community to walk alongside young people with patience and hope, offering them guidance in discerning God’s voice.
“No one can respond to God’s call alone,” he wrote. “Vocations grow within communities that believe, love, and hope.”
A Living Church
In his final written words to the faithful, Pope Francis wrote:
“The Church is alive and fruitful when she generates new vocations… Let us never tire of asking the Lord for new labourers for His harvest.”
He entrusted all young people and their vocational journey to Mary, Mother of the Church and Mother of Vocations, and concluded, as ever, with this heartfelt appeal:
“I accompany you with my blessing, and I ask you, please, to pray for me.”
