When his turn came, Ezequiel Ponce got up from his chair and strolled to the center of the stage, clutching his questions and a microphone in his hands. The eyes of 16,000 young people filling Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis — and thousands more watching live worldwide — were on him.
But he was only focused on two eyes: the ones belonging to Pope Leo XIV staring at him on a big screen.
He’s not going to lie: He was pretty nervous, at first.
“I mean, my heart was really, really pumping,” Ponce said. “I could really feel the nerves settling in.”
In that moment, Ponce, the 17-year-old youth leader from Downey and St. Dominic Savio Church in Bellflower, said he started praying.
“All those nerves kind of just went away,” he said. “Once I heard my name and everyone kind of cheered, it solidified what I was doing was true and what I was doing was right, and I was meant to be there. I reflected in that small little moment about all that has happened, all the community service I have done, all the work that I put in, and I was just taking in that beautiful moment.”
Ponce was one of five teens chosen nationwide to ask questions to the pope during a first-ever digital Q&A on Nov. 21 at the second day of the National Catholic Youth Conference.
Once he got into the rhythm of speaking to Pope Leo and hearing his answers, Ponce felt at ease, like he was talking to a friend, not the global leader of the Catholic Church.
“I felt very alive and very comfortable,” Ponce said. “It felt like it was another day where I was sitting in front of my dad or my youth leader, just having a chat with him. He set the environment, he set the tone, cracking jokes and making us all feel comfortable, like if he was really there a part of it.”
Pope Leo spoke for nearly an hour with his hybrid audience, responding to questions from Ponce and four other high schoolers. After Mia Smothers from the Archdiocese of Baltimore asked the first question, moderator Katie Prejean McGrady called Ponce to ask Pope Leo a question about mental health and young people who struggle with depression or anxiety.
“Growing up in public school, I got to see my peers and even myself struggle with our faith,” Ponce told the pope. “My question is: There are moments in which a lot of us feel sad or overwhelmed, and even if we pray or try to have faith, friends and family often say just give my problems to the Lord. But how can I really give my problems to God, and feel that he is close to me, even if I feel like this?”
Pope Leo’s full reply:
“In his first letter, St Peter tells us to give all our worries to Jesus because he cares for us. Jesus does not just understand our struggles from a distance. He actually wants us to hand them to him because he loves us, and that kind of trust starts when we have a real relationship. We cannot give our problems to someone who we barely know. Think of your closest friends, for example. If they were hurting, you would talk to them. You would listen to them. You would stay close.
Our relationship with Jesus is similar. He knows when life feels heavy, and Scripture reminds us that he is near to the brokenhearted. Even when we do not feel his presence, our faith tells us that he is there. To entrust our struggles to Jesus, we have to spend time with him in prayer. We have to have a relationship with him. In quiet, we can speak honestly about what is in our hearts. During Eucharistic adoration, you can look at Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and you know that he looks at you and he looks at you with love. He often speaks to us gently, in stillness.
That is why daily moments of silence are so important, whether through adoration, reading Scripture, talking to him, looking for those little spaces of time where we can be with him. Little by little, we learn to hear his voice, to feel his presence, both within and through the people that he sends to us.
Giving our problems to Jesus is something we can do. We need to do, again and again. Each morning, we can invite him to be with us during the day. Each night, we can talk with him about our day. And remember also Mary, the mother of Jesus, and our mother, she understands what we go through, and she prays for us. There's a powerful way to ask for her help, and that's praying the rosary. Through her intercession, and with all the saints praying for us, we can confidently place everything in God's hands, knowing that he always hears us. He's always with us.”
After the pope answered, Ponce had a rare moment where he got to ask the Holy Father a follow-up question: “It's easy at times to feel lost, but I'm afraid to talk about it, because I don't think others will really understand how I feel. What can we, the youth, adopt to communicate better with others and help them understand us?”
Pope Leo’s full reply:
“In the time that I've spent with young people, which through the years has been rather significant, I've seen that you really carry with you authentic joys and hopes, but also struggles and heavy burdens. I saw that clearly during the Jubilee of Youth, and I want you to know that I pray for you, asking the Lord to help you grow in love for him and in virtue.
I know that the Lord is working in your hearts, but I also believe he draws you closer to himself through the people in your life. Hopefully through your parents, teachers, priests, brothers and sisters, good friends, youth ministers. When you find someone you truly trust, don't be afraid to open your heart. It's so important to have authentic trust, but when you do, know that they can help you understand what you're feeling and they can support you along the way.
It's also important to pray for the gift of true friends. A real friend is not only someone who's fun to be with, though that is good too, but it's someone who helps you grow closer to Jesus, someone who encourages you to become a better person. Good friends also push us to seek help when life gets difficult or confusing. Good friends will always tell us the truth, even when that's not easy to do.
Scripture says that faithful friends are like a strong shelter and a treasure. I hope you are forming friendships like that, even during this conference. Friendships rooted in faith, rooted in love for Jesus, whether it is a trusted adult or close friend, it's important to speak honestly about what you feel, what you think, what you experience. Honesty will help you put your feelings into words, and honesty will allow Jesus to work through the people that he has placed in your life.
At the same time, remember that the Lord invites us to grow through our challenges. Many young people say, ‘No one understands me,’ but that thought sometimes can isolate you. When it comes, try saying, ‘Lord, you understand me better than I understand myself.’ And trust that the Lord will guide you.”
After answering his question, Ponce thanked the pope and returned to his seat, but he didn’t want the moment — or the conversation — to end.
“I wish I had more time with the pope,” Ponce said. “Honestly, I was really happy that he got to talk to us, but I really want to see more dialogue with teens because that was amazing.”
Besides Ponce’s questions, the pope answered other questions on artificial intelligence, how to balance technology with faith, God’s mercy when we make mistakes, and how the Church and young people can prepare for an uncertain future.
McGrady also got Pope Leo to open up about some fun aspects of his personality, asking about the pontiff’s socks (he only wears white socks, he said) and what his opening word in Wordle is (he said he uses a different word every day).
Ponce said the hometown reaction to his appearance and the dialogue overall was overwhelming.
“I've been seeing on TikTok and Instagram, all the love and everyone spreading the word back in my hometown,” he said. “They were talking about it all over my school and emailing all the teachers and saying how big of a thing it was. So it just brings me excitement and joy to see how much people truthfully enjoyed that moment and actually took something from it.
“My family was just super proud. They were texting me, calling me, and I know all my tias are gonna want to talk about it during Thanksgiving. I know that's gonna be the main thing.”
Ponce said he plans to take up Leo’s challenge to the youth at NCYC to share their faith while staying involved with their parish. He was heartened to hear Pope Leo repeat what Ponce’s youth leader has told him: that young people aren’t merely the future of the Church, but the present, too.
“To hear that basically being put into Pope Leo’s words and being shown by him directly nodding and agreeing with us … It felt super, super refreshing to hear that,” Ponce said. “Not only is that message going to be sent across to us, and back home, but all over the world.”
