Young pilgrims carry a cross as they walk toward the Vatican during a pilgrimage in Rome, July 28, 2025. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
by Roxie Beckles
I didn't set out to become a digital evangelist. I stumbled into this calling the way many of us stumble into grace: one unexpected encounter at a time.
What started as simply sharing my thoughts online about faith, fitness and femininity slowly became a full-fledged apostolate. I came to see that the digital world isn't just noise or distraction; it's the new Roman road, the very infrastructure that can carry the Gospel to corners of the world we never thought possible.
We're living in a time where souls are searching desperately for beauty, for truth and for something unshakable. And with the election of Pope Leo XIV, I believe we're standing at the threshold of a new chapter in the church's story, one where the sacred traditions of our faith and the tools of modern evangelization no longer compete but converge. I see in Pope Leo the potential to be a John Paul II for this generation, especially for those of us working to bring Christ into the digital public square.
This generation isn't swinging backward into extremism; they are stepping forward into stability. And the more the church leans into her identity fully and unapologetically, the more we see this renewal take root. Pope Leo has the opportunity to shepherd this fire rather than fear it.
A generation hungry for the sacred
There's a powerful movement happening beneath the surface of the church right now, one that can no longer be overlooked: Gen Z Catholics are not running toward novelty; they're running toward reverence. They are not demanding entertainment or watered-down theology. They are searching for transcendence, for something that pierces through the noise of modern life and brings them face-to-face with the sacred.
I've seen it firsthand in my apostolate. The content that draws the most engagement, the most testimonies, the most conversions — without fail — is content rooted in orthodoxy and beauty. It's not sensationalism that reaches hearts. It's the Mass. It's confession. It's Eucharistic adoration. It's the quiet heroism of ordinary Catholics trying to live holy lives.
Advertisement
This generation isn't swinging backward into extremism; they are stepping forward into stability.
And the more the church leans into her identity fully and unapologetically, the more we see this renewal take root. Pope Leo has the opportunity to shepherd this fire rather than fear it.
The jubilee was a wake-up call
When over a million young people flooded Rome for the Digital Evangelist Jubilee, something shifted. It wasn't just a gathering; it was a loud statement. No celebrity concert. No political agenda. Just a hunger for truth. For reverence. For mission.
A band performs in front of an image of Pope Leo XIV displayed on a large screen during a festival in Risorgimento Square in Rome July 29, 2025, as part of the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers. (CNS/Pablo Esparza)
These young Catholics were not extremists obsessed with nostalgic throwbacks. They were the future of the church — standing tall, unashamed and deeply in love with Jesus Christ. This moment wasn't orchestrated by branding experts or synodal surveys. It was the Holy Spirit moving through the hearts of a generation tired of being lied to by the world. A generation that's not content with shallow answers and empty rituals. They want real doctrine. Real reverence. Real formation. Real holiness.
My hope is that Pope Leo sees this clearly. That he understands this wasn't just an event, but a prophetic cry from the youth of the church. A cry that says: we're ready. Ready to go deeper. Ready to be challenged. Ready to evangelize. And we need a pope who will give us roots as we reach for heaven.
Don't throw out what's still bearing fruit
One of the most painful divides in the Catholic Church today is around how we worship. But when we really listen to the hearts of young Catholics, we see that the desire for tradition is not about ideology, but identity. It's about feeling rooted in something eternal when the world keeps shifting beneath our feet.
In my opinion, the traditional Latin Mass, with all its ritual precision and theological depth, continues to draw young Catholics precisely because it refuses to compromise the signs of the sacred. The use of Latin, incense, chant, sacred silence and the like are not frivolous or outdated. They engage the whole person — body, mind and soul — in an act of worship that lifts us out of ourselves and into the presence of God.
Altar servers lead the closing procession during a traditional Latin Mass at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, N.Y., in this July 1, 2021, file photo. (OSV News/Gregory A. Shemitz)
Young people want a liturgy that reflects the weight and glory of what we profess. They want to hear sacred music that stirs the soul rather than mimic the culture outside the church walls. They want to see beauty. They want to be caught up in mystery.
To move forward as one body, we have to stop pretending that reverence belongs to the past when, in fact, it's one of the only things still bringing young people in. The future of the Catholic Church depends not on reinvention, but on deepening. We don't need to discard what's still bearing fruit. We need to water it, tend it and let it flourish.
My hope is that this pontificate offers space for that to happen; that we won't be asked to silence what gives life, but invited to share it freely and joyfully with the world.
