The question of whether the pope has the capacity to connect with the crowds was largely put to rest this past week as Leo received an enthusiastic welcome from a million young people.

The Holy Father was greeted Aug. 2 by joyous crowds on the 237-acre grounds of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, 10 miles east of Rome, where teenagers and young adults will stay all night in anticipation of the closing Mass of the Jubilee of Youth on Sunday morning.

At a Mass for the Jubilee of Youth outside Rome, Pope Leo exhorted over a million young people to be "seeds of hope" and a "sign that a different world is possible."