Rome: As the cobbled streets of Rome resonate with the vibrant rhythm of the Jubilee of Youth, one group is adding a deeper harmony of hope to the celebration: Mary’s Meals. This youth-powered global school-feeding movement is making its presence felt not just with banners and songs, but through a mission that proves small acts of love can create monumental change.
This year’s Jubilee is unlike any other. Over a million young pilgrims have flooded into the Eternal City, their enthusiasm palpable and their energy infectious. Among them are the spirited youth of Mary’s Meals young ambassadors from across continents, bringing with them a message as simple as it is profound: "Food + School = Hope."
Mary’s Meals, which feeds nearly 3 million children every school day, is making the Jubilee its stage for something greater a global call to action that echoes in churches, concerts, and conversations across Rome.
From Italy to Austria, from Malawi to the heart of the Vatican, young voices are uniting to spread awareness. Mary’s Meals is not just setting up booths or handing out flyers. It is hosting a “Concert for Hope” at Piazza del Popolo, featuring Catholic musicians like Fr Rob Galea, AnMari, and Dajana. More powerful still are the testimonies of the youth ambassadors themselves many of whom were once recipients of the very meals they now help fund.
One of these is Evance Mozeka, who leads the Youth Ambassadors programme in Malawi. “We are more than a voice,” he says. “We are action.” His team works on the ground, organizing everything from school awareness campaigns to university outreach events, farmers’ markets, and fundraising drives. In Malawi, as in many other beneficiary countries, these youth are both the face and hands of Mary’s Meals feeding, advocating, and inspiring.
Paloma García Ovejero, International Media Manager for Mary’s Meals, calls the Jubilee “a dream come true.” With 67 million children still waiting for daily meals, she emphasizes that the mission is far from over. “It costs just €22 to feed a child for an entire school year. That’s a number anyone can reach,” she reminds us.
She shares the story of Lette, a young orphan from Malawi who once depended on Mary’s Meals to survive. Today, Lette is a journalist with the organization, proving that the arc of hope not only bends upward it also loops back to lift others.
Ambassadors like Chiara from Italy and Christine from Austria exemplify the power of small beginnings. Their efforts organizing concerts, sports events, and community fundraisers have helped “adopt” entire classrooms of children who are now fed daily through Mary’s Meals. “Young people care,” says Christine. “They can do so much by simply doing what they love running, cooking, singing.”
Meanwhile, in Rome’s Pincio Terrace, Mary’s Meals volunteers are engaging with thousands of pilgrims, inviting them into a movement where hope is a shared meal and a path to education. The Concert for Hope, set for July 31, will not just be a musical event but a spiritual and humanitarian statement.
In a world increasingly burdened by climate disasters, armed conflicts, and displacement, Mary’s Meals offers a counter-narrative: one where even the smallest acts matter. García Ovejero stresses that hope isn’t abstract it’s tangible. “It’s a bowl of porridge in Malawi. A schoolyard in Haiti. A smile from a child who ate today.”
And while the world may ask, “Can hope exist in places like South Sudan, Syria, or Yemen?” Mary’s Meals answers with a daily yes. Because every meal served is a step toward healing, and every young volunteer is proof that the future is still worth building.
As the Jubilee of Youth unfolds, Mary’s Meals is a shining reminder that young people are not just participants they are protagonists in shaping a more just world. They are pilgrims of hope, fed by love and driven by a mission to nourish others.
In this Jubilee, where joy meets justice and faith meets action, Mary’s Meals invites everyone to believe: You don’t need to be powerful to change a life. You just need to care enough to try. And in that truth, shared by the young and for the young, lies the very heartbeat of this Jubilee.