25 May 2024
The first World Children’s Day, held on 25 May 2024 at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, marked a historic and deeply symbolic moment for the Church and for civil society. Promoted by the Dicastery for Culture and Education on the initiative of Pope Francis, the event brought together more than 100 international delegations, each dressed in their traditional national costumes, sending a message of peace and unity among peoples.
During the event, the Holy Father spoke with the children, answering their questions with words of hope and encouragement: he emphasized the importance of forgiveness, mutual love, and the building of a more just world, inviting everyone to recognize in the youngest the strength of renewal.
The Day was also enlivened by artistic and musical performances, featuring prominent national and international figures, including artists and humanitarian personalities, all celebrating the joy, innocence, and curiosity of children.
On 26 May 2024, World Children’s Day moved to St. Peter’s Square for a solemn Eucharistic celebration presided over by Pope Francis. Thousands of children and families gathered on the parvis of St. Peter’s Basilica in an atmosphere of deep spirituality and universal participation, bearing witness to the centrality of childhood in the life of the Church.
At the end of the Mass, after the Angelus, the Pope addressed the young participants, urging them to be builders of peace and hope. It was a touching moment of communion, which also included the Pope’s personal greetings to many children in the crowd, as a gesture of affection and blessing.
The event concluded with a monologue by actor Roberto Benigni, who offered a poetic reflection on the value of innocence and fraternity among peoples, reaffirming the Church’s commitment to a future in which every child can grow up with dignity and serenity.
2-3 February 2025
On 2 and 3 February 2025, the Holy See hosted an important international summit on children’s rights, entitled “Let Us Love and Protect Them”, promoted by the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day.
The inaugural evening on 2 February took place in the Vatican Museums, with a welcoming address by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who received Nobel Prize laureates, political leaders, academics, writers, and representatives of international organizations.
The following day, the summit convened in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, featuring a series of eight roundtables dedicated to fundamental issues concerning childhood: from the protection of minors in conflict zones, to the right to play, and the need to invest educational and social resources for the youngest.
Pope Francis opened the proceedings in the morning and closed them in the afternoon, drawing attention to the sacredness of children’s lives. In his address, he powerfully affirmed that “nothing is worth more than the life of a child,” and called on the international community to commit concretely to combating war, poverty, violence, and exclusion.
Among the participants were globally renowned figures: Queen Rania of Jordan; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi; former ECB President Mario Draghi; Al Gore; Liliana Segre; Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee; Megawati Sukarnoputri, former President of Indonesia; Paolo Gentiloni; and other leaders of international organizations.
The afternoon panels focused in particular on the urgent need to ensure children’s right to leisure time, in a world that too often sees them as victims of conflicts, migration, and inequality.
In his opening remarks, Cardinal Parolin issued a powerful appeal to “listen to the children and their ‘no’” to hunger, violence, wars, and inequality, defining respect for them not only as a moral duty but as a categorical imperative.
The Summit of 2–3 February thus represented a crucial moment: a strong and shared call to place the dignity and protection of childhood at the center of global policies, in a spirit of cooperation and international solidarity.
