CONCEPCION, Tarlac — A young Concepcionense overseas worker was among the 80,000 young Catholics who filled the Stade de France on Friday evening for a prayer vigil with Pope Leo XIV, describing the experience as “emotional, blessed, and full of gratitude.”
Jeremy De Guzman, a native of Concepcion, Tarlac, joined the youth vigil through the assistance of the Philippine Catholic Mission in France. A former member of the Parish Youth Ministry and choir at Hesus Mabuting Pastol Parish, and past president of the St. Jude Thaddeus Chapel Pastoral Council, De Guzman now works in France.
“Emosyonal, pinagpala, at labis na puno ng pasasalamat ang aking naramdaman,” De Guzman said, noting that the vigil showed him “hindi patay ang pananampalataya ng mga kabataan sa France.”
The vigil, held at France’s largest stadium, was part of Pope Leo XIV’s four-day Apostolic Journey to France from September 25 to 28 — the first official papal visit to the country since Benedict XVI in 2008. The trip, with the motto “That the world may have life,” includes stops in Paris, Lourdes, and Metz.
The pope told the young crowd they were the “saints of France,” encouraging them to pursue holiness and a “living relationship with Jesus”. During the vigil, Pope Leo also venerated the Holy Tunic, believed to be the garment worn by Christ during his Passion, which was brought to the stadium from Argenteuil under tight security.
The Apostolic Journey also includes a speech at UNESCO headquarters on artificial intelligence, an open-air Mass on the Champs-Élysées expected to draw hundreds of thousands, a visit to Lourdes where the pope will pray at the Grotto and meet privately with clerical sex abuse survivors, and a final stop in Metz focused on peace in Europe.
“Malaking karangalan ang mapabilang sa 80,000 katao na dumalo sa Youth Vigil kasama ang Santo Papa. Isang karanasang hindi ko malilimutan at isang biyayang lubos kong ipinagpapasalamat sa Diyos,” De Guzman said.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David earlier said Pope Leo XIV has expressed interest in visiting the Philippines, possibly in 2027 when he is scheduled to visit South Korea for World Youth Day. The Church in the Philippines has already sent a letter to the pontiff saying he would be “most welcome”.
If realized, it would mark the fourth papal visit to the country, following Pope Francis in 2015.
