Pope Leo XIV calls on young people in Rome to "aspire to great things" and reject consumerism.

Pope Leo XIV encouraged more than a million young people gathered on the Tor Vergata esplanade on the outskirts of Rome this Sunday to "aspire to great things" and not to fall into conformism or mere consumerism for the final Mass of the Jubilee dedicated to them.

"Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Don't settle for less . In this way, you will see the light of the Gospel grow every day, within you and around you," the pontiff said during his homily from the grand stage of the Tor Vergata camp.

During the Mass, which concluded a week of events and celebrations with thousands of young people from all over the world for the Holy Year, the Pope maintained that " the fullness of our existence does not depend on what we accumulate or what we possess," but rather "is linked to what we know how to welcome and share with joy."

"Buying, accumulating, and consuming are not enough. We need to raise our eyes, look upward, to heavenly things," he asserted in his homily, read in Italian, English, and Spanish to the crowd, in which he encouraged the practice of humility, forgiveness, and peace.

Leo XIV also spoke of human fragility, comparing it to the constant renewal of nature: "Fragility is part of the wonder that we are," he said.

"This is how the countryside lives, continually renewing itself, and even during the cold winter months, when everything seems silent, its energy vibrates underground and prepares to explode in thousands of colors during the spring," the pontiff compared.

"We too, dear friends, are like this; we were not made for a life where everything is firm and secure, but for an existence that is constantly regenerated in the gift, in love," he said.

The pontiff concluded his message by entrusting young people to the Virgin Mary: "With her help, as you return to your countries in the coming days, continue to walk joyfully in the footsteps of the Savior and spread enthusiasm and faith to those you meet," he urged.

But in his address to the crowd gathered at Tor Vergata, the same place where John Paul II celebrated a historic World Youth Day half a century ago, the new pope also expressed his gratitude for the large turnout at this jubilee event.

An experience that, he said, allows us to understand what the "true flavor of life" is: not conformity, boredom, or mediocrity, but the ability to welcome and share with joy.

"Over the past few days, you have had many wonderful experiences. You have met peers from different parts of the world, belonging to different cultures. You have exchanged knowledge, shared expectations, and engaged in dialogue with the city through art, music, information technology, and sports," he celebrated.

Leo XIV, who cited in his homily his predecessor Francis and the man who would become the first millennial saint, Carlo Acutis, had this Jubilee of Youth as his most multitudinous event of his still brief pontificate, which began last May.

At Tor Vergata, he presided over a prayer vigil on Saturday afternoon , after which hundreds of thousands of young people camped there overnight, awaiting today's Mass.

Local authorities and the Vatican have already confirmed that participation in this event has exceeded one million people.