Following their meeting with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican, Peruvian young people, Ximena Valdivia and Gisela Reátegui, discuss with Vatican News the task of making “Christ alive in the ordinary” and of sharing their faith within their communities.
By Sebastián Sansón Ferrari
With tears in their eyes and hearts still overflowing with emotion, the young Peruvians marked a day that will remain etched in their memory and in the history of the Church in Peru. On Monday, July 28th, coinciding with their national holiday and the official opening of the Jubilee of Youth 2025, a delegation of 105 Peruvian pilgrims was received by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. It was a gesture of closeness that moved many—not just because of the date, but because of the deep spiritual significance of the moment.
“He wished us a happy Independence Day with a smile that embraced our souls,” said Ximena Valdivia Muro, Youth Ministry Coordinator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, in an exclusive interview with Vatican Media.
“He reminded us,” she said, “that we are not alone, that even though we come from different countries, we are one Church. And he invited us to be Christ alive, where no one sees.”
Young faithful of Peru
Beside her, Gisela Reátegui Valderas, also from Chiclayo, shared her heartfelt reaction at seeing again someone who had once been her bishop: “We were overcome with emotion. Leo XIV knows the youth of Chiclayo; he’s walked with us for years. It felt like coming home.”
Both young women received the Pope’s message as a missionary mandate: to absorb everything they experienced during the Jubilee like sponges and bring it back to their communities. “This is a celebration of forgiveness and shared faith. We come with hearts open to reconciliation, ready to live the sacraments and proclaim the Good News,” they affirmed.