As every year, 2026 has also begun with the words of the Holy Father, spoken on the occasion of the World Day of Peace. Pope Leo XIV addressed a universal prayer to the faithful throughout the world, so that the year that has just begun may be lived under the sign of an “unarmed and disarming Peace”, one that begins first and foremost in our hearts.

This year, a reflection on his message comes directly from the Pax Christi International Youth Forum, the group of young people formed in Florence during the 2025 World Gathering. The Forum seeks to carry forward, as a daily challenge for young people around the world, a message and a way of life centred on Nonviolence and on shared dialogue, in order to orient the challenges of our time towards peace.

Through their words, the young people express their firm determination not to be merely recipients of peace, but initiators of processes for its construction. “The struggle for peace,” the statement reads, “is inseparable from the struggle for justice and democracy, especially where human dignity is denied.” The collective commitment is therefore to act as promoters and active builders, advancing peace as a shared responsibility for both the present and the future.

Below is the full statement of the Youth Forum.

Response to the Message of Pope Leo XIV on the Occasion of the World Day of Peace

 

Most Holy Father,
We, the Pax Christi Youth Forum, thank you sincerely for your message on peace and for your constant witness of hope. Inspired by your words, we would like to share our reflections on what peace means to us today, as young people living and acting in a fragile world.
From our gathering in Florence, we learned that peace is lived in many ways. Our meanings of peace may differ – and each one matters — yet your words remind us that peace dwells within us, enlightens our paths, and has the power to overcome violence from the inside out.
We believe deeply that young people are not only recipients of peace, but active builders of it. Peace begins when we act – when we speak, organize, create, and care. As you teach us, peace is both a presence and a journey, something we must guard and protect even when it feels threatened or fragile.
For us, peace cannot exist without justice. The fight for peace is inseparable from the fight for justice and democracy, especially where human dignity is denied. Your call to stand where justice is exposed encourages us to support initiatives that keep hope alive in our communities.

We strongly believe that peace is a choice we must make again and again. As you teach us, peace is unarmed: it is active and nonviolent. Peace is the verb, the action, of the Gospel. It is not passive resignation, but courageous love made concrete, not silence in the face of injustice, but a commitment to dignity, dialogue, and care. As we make this choice for peace each day, we affirm the power of Gospel nonviolence to overcome violence and help us build a more peaceful world, even when we are unsure or afraid.
It is by choosing peace, and by recognising the dignity of every person, that we can help one another to “see the light and avoid the darkness”. And together, we want to raise and inflame that light, to bring light into the darkness, to bring hope into the world we are living in today. Even when the shadows feel heavy, we believe that every small act of peace can become a flame that spreads, warms and transforms.
Peace grows from everyday actions — from kindness, from truth, from standing up for what is right. As you remind us, by the words of Saint Augustine, only by holding peace firmly in our hearts can we radiate its luminous warmth to others. Peace is not an utopia: it begins and lives within us and spreads when it is lived and shared.
From this foundation of inner peace, we can bring our voices together to shape a more peaceful world. Every voice counts, and each of us has the power to shape the future through compassion and persistence. When our voices come together, they grow stronger. By promoting interreligious and ecumenical dialogue as a true path of peace, we learn to listen across differences and to build communities that radiate luminous warmth — living houses of peace in a divided world.
As a Youth group, moved by peace and nonviolence ideals, we assume peace as our shared responsibility toward the generations to come. As you remind us, peace begins with disarmament — of the heart, the mind, and our way of life. When we choose to lay down fear, indifference, and violence, hope takes shape in our actions and becomes the light we pass on to those who will follow this path with us.
We commit to choosing peace every day, carrying it forward as a hope for today and for generations to come.