Pope Leo XIV visited the children, adolescents, and animators participating in the traditional “Estate Ragazzi in Vaticano” this Monday, the summer center organized for the children of employees of the Holy See and the Vatican City State. In a dialogue held in the Paul VI Hall, the Pontiff answered questions about technology, travel, friendship, family, and prayer, stressing the need not to rely excessively on screens and to recover personal contact.
The meeting took place in a close and spontaneous atmosphere. The participants explained to the Pope that during the camp activities they manage to have fun without a mobile phone, but they admitted that during the rest of the year it is difficult for them to separate from screens when they return home.
From that concern, Leo XIV offered a simple and direct reflection on the use of technology, especially among children and young people.
Technology is useful, but it should not replace friendship
The Pope began by acknowledging that digital devices can have positive aspects and be useful for many activities. However, he warned that when people are together, it is not necessary to constantly hold a mobile phone, cell phone, or tablet in hand.
“Technology can be very good and serves us for many things, but when we are together it is not necessary to have the mobile phone, the cell phone, or the tablet in hand at all times,” he noted.
Leo XIV highlighted that the children present were enjoying themselves precisely because they were not focused on screens. From there, he insisted on the importance of cultivating real friendships.
“It is very important to form friendships, to meet together, to play together, and perhaps also to study together as people, not as computers or machines, as techno-robots,” he stated.
The Pontiff emphasized that human beings need contact with others and that technology, although it can help, cannot take the place of personal relationships.
The Pope calls for recovering dialogue in the family
Leo XIV extended his reflection to the family sphere and warned against the increasingly common image of families physically together but isolated because each member is looking at their own device.
“A family that gathers together is not enough if we are all there looking at our own phones,” he said.
The Pope encouraged recovering conversation, shared play, and personal interaction within the home. As he explained, learning to dialogue and live with others is an essential part of human development.
In that context, he also introduced the spiritual dimension of family life. He recalled that although one may have the Bible or some prayers on the phone, the relationship with God cannot be reduced to a screen.
“God does not want to look at the phone: God wants to look at our hearts, our life,” he affirmed.
For this reason, he invited everyone to live with greater freedom regarding devices and to seek God also in family and community prayer.
“They try to make us dependent”
In a part of his response directed especially at the older participants, Leo XIV warned about mechanisms designed by some applications to create dependency.
The Pope pointed out that many programs and applications are deliberately designed to keep the user’s attention for as long as possible.
“They try to make us dependent on this technology,” he warned.
In response to this reality, he recommended setting concrete limits on the use of devices. Among the examples he proposed, he mentioned stopping looking at the phone after a certain hour or reserving specific moments to talk with the family and be together.
According to the Pontiff, these limits can help people live with more freedom and better develop the human and spiritual dimension of the person.
“We are not all plugged into a cable,” he reminded them. “We are human beings.”
An anecdote about GPS
The second question was related to the theme of this year’s edition of “Estate Ragazzi in Vaticano,” inspired by “Around the World in 80 Days.” A girl asked the Pope for any secret he had learned during his travels.
Leo XIV responded with an anecdote directly connected to the previous topic. He recalled that when he was a child, people learned to read road maps before traveling and prepared the route in advance.
Today, however, he noted, many people simply enter the destination into the car’s or phone’s GPS and follow its instructions without thinking too much.
The Pope shared that on several occasions, both in Italy and in other European countries, in Peru, and once in the United States, the GPS had taken him on the wrong route and left him stuck, unable to reach his destination.
From that experience, he again insisted that it is not advisable to depend too much on technology.
“I don’t need the phone if the brain works”
Leo XIV used the anecdote to encourage the children to develop their capacity for critical thinking.
“It is important not to be too dependent on technology,” he said. “It is much better to learn to think for ourselves, to have the critical ability to know where we are going in life, in our travels, or in whatever it may be.”
The Pope urged young people to study well, prepare themselves, and use the intelligence that God has given to each person.
“I don’t need the phone if the brain works,” he stated, provoking amused reactions from those present.
For Leo XIV, technology can help and provide useful information, but it should not replace the human capacity to think, decide, and solve problems.
He also noted that a well-prepared person can find solutions when unexpected situations arise during a trip or in any other circumstance.
Named “Chief Explorer”
During the meeting, the children presented the Pope with an explorer kit and a commemorative plaque from “Estate Ragazzi in Vaticano.” In a symbolic gesture, Leo XIV was named “Chief Explorer,” in keeping with this year’s camp theme.
The Pontiff thanked the gesture and explained that he would have liked to answer more questions, although he had to attend to other commitments.
Before saying goodbye, he proposed that the participants pray together so they could tell their parents they had prayed with the Pope.
“Prayer is very important for us. We want Jesus to be here with us,” he affirmed.
Afterward, everyone prayed the Our Father together, and the Pope imparted the blessing.
A summer activity for the children of Vatican employees
“Estate Ragazzi in Vaticano” is an initiative organized during school holidays for the children of workers of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.
The program combines recreational activities, formation, community living, and moments of prayer. In this edition, the guiding theme is “Around the World in 80 Days,” a proposal that invites participants to discover different places and cultures through play and imagination.