On May 3rd Belgian youth wrote an open letter to the cardinal electors who will choose the new pope –
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS
To all shepherds called to shape the future
Dear Servants of the Lord,
We stand at a crossroads.
The death of Pope Francis does not mark the end of an era but serves as an
invitation.
An invitation to continue to hope. To move forward on the path he paved. To once
again become a pilgrim Church.
We write to you not from a distance, but from deep communion.
As young people, companions, women, lay faithful — as children of a Church
yearning for renewal — inspired by this Jubilee Year and nourished by the promise
of Spes non confundit: that hope will not disappoint.
We long for a Church that believes the Spirit of God continues to breathe, even
today, through young people and along new paths.
Honoring the past.
We do not forget.
We honor the many popes, priests, religious, lay people, women, and martyrs
who went before us.
They passed on the faith with passion, sometimes through suffering, often through
love.
But we also acknowledge the shadows: clericalism, abuse of power, and complicit
silence.
To honor the past is also to learn from it — not to remain stuck in it, but to heal.
Embracing the present.
Pope Francis showed us a new way of being Church.
He reminded us that synodality is not an event but a way of life. He taught us to listen — truly listen — to the other, to people in the margins, to the Spirit. He opened doors, broke taboos, spoke about abuse, power structures, and nature as our sister, went to places where other world leaders dared not go. He called young people to “make a ruckus,” not from rebellion, but from a love for the world. He built a culture of dialogue — with society, with other religions, with those who think and feel differently.
Building the future.
A living Church chooses the future. And that future cannot be written without young people, women, and the laity. Christus Vivit is not a footnote to synodal documents — it is a manifesto for a Church fueled by the dreams of young people. We ask you to take it seriously. We dream of a Ministry of Peacemakers within the Church: leaders who build bridges, overcome conflict, and recognize the strength of vulnerability. Let the conclave not be a closed space. Let it become a wellspring of spiritual renewal. Why should the People of God — even symbolically — not be heard? Why not allow video messages from young people, victims, seekers of meaning? Why not listen to the voices from the world’s peripheries, even through a screen?
A Church that dares to hope actively…
We hope for a radically integral Church. A Church where transparency is not a marketing term but the foundation of trust.
We hope for an inclusive Church.
A Church that does not judge by origin, gender, orientation, or status, but by the capacity to love. We hope for a Church in dialogue with all faiths. Not out of politeness, but from a deep belief in the mutual enrichment God offers through the other. We hope for a Church fully immersed in society. Not above it, not beside it, but within it — vulnerable, searching, present.
We also believe in a digitally present Church.
Not as a technological necessity, but as a missionary space.
Where young people today live, search, ask questions, and share their faith. Let us invest in digital pastoral care as a community without borders. Pope Francis spoke of the digital peripheries — we believe they too can become a new Emmaus.
Eminences,
Do not merely elect a pope.
Choose a pilgrim. A shepherd. A peacemaker.
Let your choice be a step towards a Church where young people are not just
welcomed but empowered as co-owners.
Let your choice echo the spirit of Francis and offer a prophetic answer to the
future.
Call us pilgrims of hope. But above all: listen to us.
Because hope is not a dream.
Hope is a path.
And we walk that path together.
With reverence, with love, but also with expectant hope,
on behalf of all young people who search, hope, and believe.
Sofi Van Ussel, Director of Kamino, Belgium, who supported this initiative to help
amplify the voice of young people at this crucial moment in the life of the Church.
Sister Xiskya – who was a synod mother at the Synod of Synodality and as a digital
missionary, also supports this initiative
What struck YOU the most in reading this letter of the young people?
FAITH IS LIKE WI-FI, IT’S INVISIBLE, BUT IT HAS THE POWER TO CONNECT YOU TO THE GOD YOU NEED.
Please share this letter with as many young people as you can.
Please remember the cardinals in Conclave as they vote to elect a new pope.
