Ezequiel Ponce
Wave Staff and Wire Reports
DOWNEY — A Downey High School senior got a chance to ask Pope Leo questions Nov. 21 in a digital question and answer session during the second day of the National Catholic Youth Conference.
Ezequiel Ponce, 17, said he was “absolutely ecstatic” when told he was chosen to participate in the event.
“I remember being in school and just doing my regular thing in class, and I get the email, and my jaw drops,” he told Angelus News, the multimedia news platform of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. “It’s the only thing I could think about. I remember telling my parents and they were super excited for me.”
Pope Leo addressed about 15,000 young people between the ages of 14-18 at the conference, which was held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
In previous years, Pope Francis had sent video messages to conference attendees. This was the first time a pope directly engaged with youth at the National Catholic Youth Conference during a live online question period.
The National Catholic Youth Conference leaders narrowed down a slate of 40 teens to select five speakers and three alternates who would ask questions to Leo.
In looking for a diverse selection of regions and cultural groups, Ponce was chosen along with Mia Smothers, a high school freshman from Maryland; Elise Wing, a high school senior from Iowa; Christopher Pantelakis, a high school junior from Nevada; and Micah Alciso, a high school senior from Hawaii.
As he prepared for the Q&A, Ponce said he was encouraged by the fact the pope is making the effort to speak to young people.
“I honestly have been amazed on how much the pope genuinely wants to engage in dialogue,” Ponce said. “Because I feel that young people assume that the other generations look down upon us, especially the Gen Z and stuff, because it’s the age of technology and all that.”
Ponce, who is considering becoming a math teacher, is active in youth ministry at his parish, St. Dominic Savio Church in Bellflower, including as head counselor at the church’s summer camp, Camp Savio.
He currently takes a class at his high school that allows him to teach one period at Doty Middle School in Downey.
JC Montenegro, youth ministry coordinator at St. Dominic Savio, recommended Ponce to conference leaders.
“Even at a young age, he’s a leader,” Montenegro said of Ponce. “He’s someone who is insightful, someone who is committed, someone who is battling his own emotions and fears, but yet he’s always there to help others, and I think that is something that is commendable.”
