A solo traveler, even using Google maps and ChatGPT, cannot safely and happily complete the journey of life or the journey of faith, Pope Leo XIV told thousands of young pilgrims meeting at the Marian shrine in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. “No algorithm will ever replace a hug, a look, a real encounter — not with God, not with our friends, not with our family,” the pope wrote to people attending the international youth festival known as Mladifest August 4-8. Pope Leo urged young people to “seek genuine encounters” following the example of Mary, who “undertook a difficult journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth.”
