A technological first for the Holy Father
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
On this weekend, was the National Catholic Youth Conference, held at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN where over 15,000 young people, were able to dialogue with Pope Leo XIV. “He was connected to Lucas Oil Stadium during this conference on November 21, 2025. He engaged in a 45-minute dialogue with young people, marking the first time a pope has participated in a digital encounter with American youth.” (from- Catholic News Agency)
The engineers of EWTN who were instrumental in getting the Pope to dialogue with these wonderful young people, did a great job. I don’t know how they accomplished it, but it worked! I am sure there are others involved in the technology, but I was unable to pin them down. I viewed the whole interview at home and enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you Holy Spirit. The young people asked questions, well-rehearsed questions of interest to the larger group, and the Holy Father answered in an unstructured way with answers that made sense and often made me smile.
Since the Pope is an American, he was easy to understand, a definite plus! Thank you, Lord! The applause was ear-splitting at times.
These type of conferences give attendees the opportunity to share Holy Mass together, go to confession/reconciliation, and learn to pray a lot. Especially how to make time during the busy day for short prayer.
Peace and Good
Fred, 11/21/2025