VATICAN CITY | In a stirring address at the Paul VI Audience Hall, Pope Leo XIV urged students from around the world not to allow technology to define their lives, but to reclaim education as a force for moral and social renewal. Speaking during the Jubilee of the World of Education, the Pope said that education remains “one of the most beautiful and powerful tools for changing the world.”
Recalling his years as a mathematics teacher, Pope Leo reflected on how learning shapes both intellect and character. Citing the example of Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati, he encouraged students to “have the courage to live life to the fullest” and to seek “something greater” than fleeting pleasures or digital distractions.
The Pontiff invited young people to see education as a shared journey rather than a solitary pursuit. “You are not simply recipients of education, but its protagonists,” he declared, urging them to help usher in “a new season of education” rooted in truth, peace, and fraternity.
He drew on the wisdom of St. John Henry Newman, who wrote that “knowledge grows when it is shared.” True learning, the Pope said, comes through “the conversation of minds” that ignites the “flame of truth.”
Turning to the challenges of the digital age, Pope Leo cautioned against becoming enslaved by screens or artificial intelligence. “Do not let technology use you,” he warned, urging students to “humanize the digital world” and turn it into “a space of fraternity and creativity.” The Pope pointed to the young Blessed Carlo Acutis as a model of holiness and integrity in the online world.
Education, he said, must also be an education for peace. Beyond silencing weapons, it must “disarm hearts” and foster a culture of respect, equality, and compassion. “A disarmed and disarming education,” he added, “creates the conditions for justice and fraternity to flourish.”
Pope Leo concluded by encouraging the students to lift their gaze above fleeting concerns. “Do not look for shooting stars,” he said. “Look higher still, toward Jesus Christ, ‘the sun of righteousness,’ who will always guide you along the paths of life.”
