NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE P ope Francis is headed to Portugal for World Youth Day. The event, started by John Paul II, remains transformational for young people and those who love them. A papal occasion isn’t breaking news in comparison with all the headlines that draw eyes, but these events make an impression on those present in ways that renew them.

My first World Youth Day came when I was 40. I was covering it, not joining it in the traditional manner. But it was impossible not to be affected by it. It was the summer when Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were running for president of the United States. Both political conventions were happening in the U.S. while many of us were in Poland for the papal visit. I distinctly remember a few days when I woke up in the middle of the night, European time, to watch the political conventions — acceptance speeches and other events. I remember being tired and maybe publishing tweets that were saucier than usual. More than a few people encouraged me to do that more often. I immediately examined my conscience. Here I was at a gathering of prayer, and I wasn’t showing the best of it. I was being distracted by what everyone else was following.

I was mostly in Krakow that summer month, so every Uber driver I encountered asked me about politics in the United States. Almost to a man, they asked why Americans couldn’t come up with alternatives to the two who were running. “You’re a big country, and this is the best you can come up with?!” The Polish, of course, have raw and recent memories attesting to why friends are needed in the world — Russia’s war on Ukraine adds to their concerns now. I remember being amazed by how many Eighties songs from the West were playing in many public spaces over the few weeks I was there. To people liberated during the latter part of the decade, they are the songs of freedom!

One day, just before Pope Francis arrived, I moderated a panel on religious freedom to a crowd of 20,000 English-speaking pilgrims. Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq, was one of the panelists, and when I presented him as a Christian prepared for martyrdom and leading others to be prepared for it also — the ISIS genocide against Christians in his part of the world was ongoing — he was met with a standing ovation from youth who probably hadn’t known much about him and the plight of his people. A mother helping lead one of the delegations thanked me for highlighting hope. She shared that she found the presidential election distressing that year and that the Krakow event was helping her keep her eyes on the prize of virtue and, frankly, eternal life — and its importance beyond election cycles.

One of my memories of the papal events that August is of trying to get into a Stations of the Cross service with Pope Francis and never making it past security, even though I had decent tickets. I was there with an American priest, and we thought the circumstances were fitting. We were all being called to make small sacrifices for the sake of love and virtue. Obviously, not getting a decent spot at the pope’s event there wasn’t the biggest deal, but it was symbolic. We don’t always get the best spot. We don’t always get the grand entrance.

But there’s something important about making the effort to be present at an event that is reflective and acknowledging that amid all that’s going on in the world, we each feel a personal call to sacrifice and to walk with others. The Stations are about following Jesus in His Passion, and the people He encounters on the way. Some are drawn to Him. One helps Him. Others cry to Him. One tries to present a balm during His suffering. We all suffer. There is a universal message beyond Christian belief there. There certainly was for me in not actually making it in and yet witnessing it outside the security perimeter.

Pope Francis heads to Portugal for World Youth Day this week at a time of such a lack of trust on so many fronts, certainly here in the United States, but internationally as well. Again, the war in Ukraine; the upcoming synod this fall in the Catholic Church, which has people up in arms and emboldened. I remember one night in Poland that summer, hearing young people from different countries chant in the streets just to greet one another: “USA! USA! USA!” It gave me pause for the first time in my life. Who are we? What do we want? What do we want to show the world? What does the world see of us?

One day while in Poland, I found myself on a small errand for people who were trying to make the experience rich for American pilgrims. I encountered an Uber driver who had spent most of his life in New Jersey; he helped me find my way on what would have otherwise been a wild goose chase. He accompanied me with a grandfatherly joy. In many ways, that best reflects these World Youth Day events — the interaction of a pope with the young and their gratitude for him and their reverence for him.

At a time when most of our political leaders are grandfathers, may World Youth Day be a moment for courage beyond the Catholic Church and those who find themselves in Portugal. On so many fronts, we need to encourage younger people to take the next steps in love and leadership for a new generation to present the best of what humanity is made for.

This column is based on one available through Andrews McMeel Universal’s Newspaper Enterprise Association.