Pope Leo XIV has received rock star welcomes from large crowds of young people worldwide since his election in May 2025.

Vast numbers streamed through Rome last September, to witness the historic canonization of the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint, 15-year-old Carlo Acutis.

The event was symbolic of a church transitioning into a digital era and providing new role models for the young.

And Pope Leo is at the helm of it all.

“At 70, Pope Leo is obviously not himself a young man,” says Ruth Gledhill of The Tablet.

“Yet he has an air of youthful vigour around him, he is sporty and fit. He also seems genuinely bereft of any ego.”

Earlier this month, tickets to see the US-born Pope in the 80,000-seat Stade de France near Paris in September were snapped up in less than an hour.

Among them was 21-year-old Allan, who had 10 members of his family on hand trying to secure a ticket online. It was much the same approach many music fans take when trying to get into hugely popular music festivals.

“[It was] like it was Beyonce,” he told Le Parisien of the challenge to secure a spot for the event.