Javier del Río Alba, archbishop of Arequipa, with the youth at the 13th Youth Festival of Faith. / Credit: Archdiocese of Arequipa

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 18:17 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Javier Del Río Alba of Arequipa in southern Peru shared the keys to holiness with more than 8,500 young people at the Shrine of Our Lady of Chapi during the 13th Youth Festival of Faith, held over the weekend of the solemnity of All Saints.

The gathering, which took place Oct. 31–Nov. 1, was led by the archbishop, accompanied by the auxiliary bishop of Arequipa, Raúl Chau Quispe, along with priests, nuns, seminarians, and catechists.

The celebration began around 10:30 p.m. with the procession of the image of Our Lady of Chapi, which was received with applause from the young people, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Arequipa sent to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Del Río delivered a homily on the Gospel passage of the wedding feast at Cana, reflecting on the importance of Catholic marriage and reminding the young people that stimulants or other drugs are not needed to be truly joyful.

The young people were able to go to confession with dozens of priests and then participate in Mass and receive a plenary indulgence.

We can all be saints

Del Río celebrated Mass on Nov. 1 and emphasized that it is not impossible to be saints and reach heaven like Carlo Acutis or Pier Giorgio Frassati — both canonized in September — St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Calcutta, or St. Catherine of Siena, who “had the same human nature as us; they were not Superman or Superwoman: They were men and women like us, they were young like you with the same wounded human nature.”

The prelate emphasized that, as children of God, we all have “in our DNA” the potential to reach heaven, to be saints and be completely happy, despite our problems and individual circumstances.

The archbishop encouraged the young people to trust in God always, especially “when you feel overwhelmed, when you find yourself committing the same sins, when you think you can’t move forward, that you’ll always be a slave to the same thing: a vain person, a lustful person, a selfish person, a jealous person, an insecure person, a timid person… when you think you’ll always be stuck going around in circles.”

Del Río told those present to remember that God is with them when others make fun of them or when they are not invited to parties and others say: “‘There’s that prude’; ‘Look at that prude with her rosary.’”

The prelate exhorted them to remember in those moments that they are blessed, because when “the world persecutes you, when the world insults you, when the world says all kinds of things against you,” Jesus Christ is there.

Del Río also encouraged them to go to confession frequently in order to be able to face the world, where the devil can appear in different places such as “the internet, technology, social media, or artificial intelligence.”

The archbishop also warned that the devil “wants you to believe that to be happy you have to indulge yourself in everything, you have to get ahead, even if it means trampling on others.” 

“God, on the other hand, teaches us something wonderful,” he said. “God tells us the truth, and the truth is one: Jesus Christ, who, nailed to that cross, shed his blood for you” to free you “from death and sin.”

Finally, the prelate encouraged his listeners to ask “the Lord to accomplish this work in us, to grant us his Holy Spirit so that we may persevere in the Church and thus be witnesses of his power, his love, and his mercy to those who need us.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.