The Schoenstatt Youth of Argentina Meets Pope Leo XIV
Karen Bueno
The Schoenstatt Youth of Argentina had a very special opportunity on Wednesday, August 6, 2025. During the general audience, they met with the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. On this occasion, Father Juan María Molina presented him with the image of the Pilgrim MTA.
The group consists of 45 young people from the Youth of Buenos Aires and their moderators, Fathers Juan María Molina and Francisco Bosch. They had recently participated in the Youth Jubilee in Rome.
This encounter was made possible thanks to the intermediation of the former secretary of Pope Francis, an Argentine priest, who enabled them to access the area reserved for the audience.
Father Juan Molina shares more details about this exceptional experience:
The encounter was more of a greeting at the end of the audience. Some groups that had been previously designated came forward to greet him, and we did the same. I was part of this group and was able to greet him. We took a photo and, well, I found it meaningful that, as a group of the Schoenstatt Youth, we could give a gift to the Pope. What represents us most as Schoenstatt youth is the mission—bringing the Pilgrim Mother, who has many missions and gathers many people. That’s why I thought it was significant to give him the image of the Pilgrim Mother.
We gave him this gift, promising our prayers for him, for his papacy, for his ministry, and for his life, and also entrusting him to the Blessed Mother so that she may keep him close and that he may walk with her.
He was thankful, received it, and recognized the image.
I also remembered Pope Francis; we are from Buenos Aires, the land of Pope Francis. We knew that at the beginning of his pontificate, Francis had received a Pilgrim Mother image through Father Alexandre Awi and had kept it until the end of his days. That’s why, with that memory, I thought it was fitting for him to receive the Pilgrim image, regardless of what he ended up doing with it.
For all of us, it was a grand finale to the days of the youth jubilee, days of renewal in faith, encounter, celebration, and joy. It was also a very concrete expression of our incorporation, of our sense of belonging to the Church, and of our roots, which we want to see present there.
Thank God, the youth experience this very naturally and feel deeply involved with the universal Church, but also with the local Church, participating actively in parishes and contributing from there as well.
Schoenstatt does not want to be an ideology in the Church but rather a grace—the grace of sharing the Blessed Mother, who allows us and gives us a unique way of walking with her. I like to think that when I give him the Pilgrim MTA and ask permission to hug him, in that hug are also the 45 million Argentines, the Schoenstatt members of the world, and the people of faith who accompany, love, support, and trust him.
Translation: Sr. M. Lourdes Macías
*Editor’s note: The Pope’s meeting was with the Schoenstatt Boys’ and Girls’ Youth, and not only with the Boys’ Youth, as previously mentioned.
The Schoenstatt Boys’ Youth walked 40 km in Brazil, following in the footsteps of Pozzobon, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Pilgrim Mother Apostolate.
