Thousands of children with small backpacks on their shoulders, light footsteps, and hearts full of joy will walk together toward the Jubilee of Children (to be held on May 24-25, 2025). They are pilgrims of hope, witnesses to the purity and trust that we adults risk forgetting. But what does this journey really mean for them? And what can we learn from children?
A year of joy and hope
What has just begun is a year marked by joy and hope, and we could almost say that joy and hope are the distinguishing traits of children. Pope Francis envisioned a Jubilee dedicated to them, so that they too may be pilgrims of hope.
The Jubilee of Children is therefore a favorable opportunity to rediscover the fundamental importance of children: “children are our most important resource and our best hope for the future” (John F. Kennedy), and to find within ourselves that inexhaustible strength, that light that never ceases to shine. This reminds us that we too were children and that we should become children again in order to savor life to the fullest.
The future belongs to children
Pope Francis also stressed that the future is inscribed in children when he inaugurated the World Children's Day last year: “In you, children, everything speaks of life and the future. And the Church, which is a mother, welcomes you and accompanies you with tenderness and hope. Last November 6, I had the joy of welcoming several thousand children from many parts of the world to the Vatican. That day youbrought a wave of joy; and you shared your questions about the future with me. That meeting left a mark on my heart, and I understood that that conversation with you had to continue, had to extend to many other children and young people. And that is why we are here today: to continue talking, asking ourselves questions and finding answers.”
With the establishment of the World Day, therefore, the Pope wanted to send a clear message: children are a source of hope, because their very presence is a harbinger of the future.
It is as though children - in their simplicity, immediacy, and spontaneity, in their anticipation of the future while taking care not to miss the present - teach us every day to become pilgrims of hope. And so we understand how profound and true the sentence from The Little Prince is: “Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiring for children to explain everything to them every time.”
Educating: helping them blossom
So, while it is certainly true that children are wise teachers, it is equally true, however, that they have much to learn, because they are like seeds ready to blossom. The most delicate and precious task entrusted to the family, society, and the Church is precisely to accompany them toward healthy blossoming: this awareness challenges us deeply and calls us to the commitment to education.
«Sowing is the basic move in the art of educating. Educating, in fact, requires long patience: today a seed is sown… tomorrow it will be harvested.
In Egypt, they found grains of wheat dating back to the time of the pharaohs; someone had sown them: after a few months, ears filled with excellent wheat were swaying! The power of the seed! That is why educators believe in the seed. Little or much… it does not matter: they sow. They sow from the very first days of a child’s life.
Sow love, because without love, life is impossible.
Sow courage, because life is always an uphill climb.
Sow hope, because hope is the drive to keep going.
Sow optimism, because optimism is the starter motor for everything.
Sow a good memory, because a good memory can become a handle to hold on to in moments of confusion.
Sow God, because God is the foundation of everything.
An educator sows! He sows because a seed is much more than hope: it is a guarantee» (Pino Pellegrino, Salesian Bulletin).
As parents, catechists, and educators, let us therefore accompany children on this pilgrimage of hope and, above all, let us learn from them to become pilgrims of hope in our everyday lives.
Finally, let us not forget a “secret” that the Pope entrusted to children, but that is also precious for adults: «And now I want to confide an important secret in you: to be truly happy, we need to pray, pray a lot, every daybecause prayer connects us directly to God, fills our hearts with light and warmth, and helps us do everything with trust and serenity. Jesus, too, always prayed to the Father. And do you know what he called him? In his language, he simply called him Abbà, which means Daddy (cf. Mk 14:36). Let us do the same! We will always feel him close» (Mt 18:20).
To help children experience the 2025 Jubilee while actively awaiting May 24 and 25, we offer a downloadable resource designed for them (to use with their families and/or in catechism classes) and created by Father Andrea Oldoni.
