Over the past week and a half, I’ve been in London in my role as Director of Mission and Evangelisation for the Catholic Diocese, gathering with colleagues from dioceses across the globe. We came together for the annual ALPHA Leadership Conference—a program that presents a bold and focused vision for the renewal of the Church.

The conference was no Conclave – we weren’t locked in, and we had full access to the outside world, freely moving between presentations and discussions. Yet, like a Conclave, we gathered with diverse, and at times, deeply held views on the kind of Pope our time and global context call for; one that speaks to the realities in which we live and carry out our mission.

This week,133 Cardinals prayed, discussed and voted for Pope Francis’ successor. During their early gatherings following the Pope’s Funeral it was heartening to see the youngest and newest Cardinals find each other amongst the sea of red hats.

At 39, I’m only slightly younger than Cardinal Mykola, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic cardinal from Australia, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals just last December at age 45. As two of the younger members of Church leadership in Australia, we’ve found ourselves working together every few months as part of a small, four-person commission, imagining what the future of the Catholic Church might look like for young people. The conversations and emerging vision have been deeply encouraging.

Inside St Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Mykola was joined by two of the youngest Cardinals who participated for the first time in a Conclave, Cardinal Americo Manuel (51) from Portugal and Cardinal Giorgio Marengo (50) from Mongolia.

Meeting both of these remarkable men over the past five years has affirmed my hope in the future of a Church I want to remain a part of. Their willingness to be present with the people of God and be engaged, visible and accessible, is not something that can always be said of many in the College of Cardinals, whether due to age, energy, or differing priorities.

Cardinal Manuel led one of the most successful World Youth Days in 2023, welcoming millions of young people to Portugal. Among them were students and teachers from our own Diocese, many of whom describe the experience as life-changing. His bold leadership ensured that faith was presented in ways that resonated with the culture young people are living in today. The event was both creative and reverent, ecumenical yet unapologetically Catholic. Topics often avoided, such as mental health, secularisation or the complex realities facing youth, were brought to the forefront with honesty and pastoral care.

Cardinal Marengo visited Australia last year to share his experience as a missionary in Mongolia, where he has served since 2003. In a country where Buddhism is the majority religion, he has devoted himself to building meaningful relationships with the Buddhist community, emphasising that inter-religious dialogue is not just important but fundamental to our mission. In his view, such dialogue offers hope and healing in a world increasingly marked by tension and division.

While these three men have not been called to the Papacy (at least not yet), they reflect the legacy of hope Pope Francis leaves us in this Jubilee Year. Today’s College of Cardinals is younger and more representative of the true universality of the Catholic Church than ever before. Cardinals from the peripheries, like these, signal a shift in the Church’s centre of gravity, offering a renewed sense of hope for decades to come.

I pray that our Pope Leo XIV will be attentive to the voices of our youngest leaders, those committed to walking alongside a new generation of Catholics who are turning away from an overstimulated world, not out of apathy, but because they are searching for deeper meaning and purpose in their lives.

In 2033, the Catholic Church will mark 2,000 years since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This papacy must inspire the local Church in every corner of the world to be ready, open and willing to journey with all who are searching for a place to call home – a home grounded in love, mercy and charity.  That’s where my heart lies.

James Camden, Director of Mission and Evangelisation at the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.