ROME – Pope Leo XIV opened a virtual meeting with American Catholic youths Friday by revealing a closely held pontifical secret: He uses a different Wordle start word each day.
Leo shared his strategy for the popular New York Times online game before fielding questions via videoconference about artificial intelligence, social media and the future of the Catholic Church.
The Chicago-born pope spoke from the Vatican to the National Catholic Youth Conference, an annual Catholic rally held this year in Indianapolis, via a feed from U.S. Catholic broadcaster EWTN.
After Leo’s election in May, his brother John Prevost revealed that Leo plays Wordle every day and that the brothers compare scores, like many families.
Leo was asked about his strategy at the start of Friday’s Q&A, which was otherwise somewhat scripted. Playing along, Leo said, “I use a different word for Wordle every day, so there’s no set starting word.”
The simple, free online puzzle lets players guess a five-letter word in six tries without hints and attracts millions of daily players worldwide.
After the big reveal, Leo spent the hourlong session answering prepared questions from several conference participants. He said social media is a great way to stay connected and deepen faith, but warned that it can never replace real human relationships.
He urged young people to follow the example of St. Carlo Acutis, a teenage Catholic influencer canonized earlier this year who set limits on his screen time so video games didn’t dominate his free time.
“I encourage you to follow the example of Carlo Acutis,” Leo said. “Be intentional with your screen time. Make sure technology serves your life and not the other way around.”
Leo also applied that lesson to artificial intelligence, a topic he has said is a priority concern. He told the young people it is a powerful tool but that they must learn to use it responsibly and not let it interfere with their maturing into adults capable of making choices.
