This morning's General Audience began at 9:30am (3:30am EST) inside the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. The Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from other parts of the world.
In his speech, the Pope added a meditation on his recent Apostolic voyage to Panama for the XXXIV World Youth Day (Gospel passage: Lk 1:38-39).
After having summarized His catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, I want to focus with you on the Apostolic voyage to Panama that I have completed in recent days. I invite you to give thanks to the Lord with me for this grace which He has given to the Church and to the people of that beloved country. I thank the President of Panama and the other Authorities, the Bishops ... and I thank all the volunteers - there were so many of them - for their warm and open welcome, something which I also saw in the many people who came from every place to greet me with great faith and enthusiasm. One thing that struck me was the people who would raise their children up in their arms. When the popemobile was passing by, all those who had children: they would raise them up saying, Here is my pride, here is my future! And they would show me their children. But there were so many of them! And the fathers and mothers were so proud of their children. I thought: how much dignity there is in such a gesture, and how eloquent it is against the demographic winter we are experiencing here in Europe! Children are the pride of their families. Children are sources of security for the future. Demographic winter, without children, is difficult!
The reason for this trip was the World Youth Day, but the meetings with young people were intertwined with the reality of the country: the Authorities, the Bishops, young prisoners, consecrated persons and a family home. Everything was infected and amalgamated by the joyful presence of the young: it was a party for them and a party for Panama, and also for all of Central America, marked by so many dramas and in need of hope and peace, and even justice.
This World Youth Day was preceded by the meeting of young members from native and African-American peoples. This was a nice gesture: they spent five days in meetings: young indigenous people and young descendants. There are many of them in that region. They opened the door to World Day. And this is an important initiative that has shown even better the multifaceted face of the Church in Latin America: Latin America is mixed. Then, with the arrival of groups from all over the world, the great symphony of faces and languages - which is typical of this event - were formed. Seeing all the flags parade together, dancing in the hands of the joyful young people is a prophetic sign, a mark against the current trend of today's conflicting nationalisms, which raise walls and close us off from universality, from encountering other people. It is a sign that young Christians are leaven for peace in the world.
This WYD had a strong Marian imprint, because its theme was the words of the Virgin to the Angel: Behold the servant of the Lord; let it be done unto me according to your word (Lk 1:38). It was striking to hear these words spoken by the representatives of the youth from all the five continents, and above all to see them show it on their faces. As long as there are new generations able to say here I am to God, there will be a future in the world.
Among the stages of the WYD there is always the Via Crucis. Walking with Mary behind Jesus who is carrying the cross is the school of Christian life: there you learn patient, silent, concrete love. I want to tell you something: I really like to experience the Via Crucis, because it is about going with Mary behind Jesus. And I always carry with me, to do it at any time, a pocket-sized Via Crucis, which gave me the ability to be a very apostolic person in Buenos Aires. And when I have time I take advantage of it and follow the Via Crucis. You too can walk the Via Crucis, because it is a matter of following Jesus with Mary on the path of the cross, where He gave his life for us, for our redemption. In the Via Crucis one learns patient, silent and concrete love. In Panama, young people brought with Jesus and Mary the burden of the conditions of so many suffering brothers and sisters in Central America and in the whole world. Among these, there are many young victims of different forms of slavery and poverty. And in this sense, the penitential liturgy that I celebrated in a Rehabilitation home for minors and the visit to the Buon Samaritano Family Home, which houses people living with HIV / AIDS, were very significant moments.
The culmination of the WYD and the Apostolic journey were the Vigil and the Mass with the youth. In the Vigil - in that camp full of young people who experienced the Vigil, they slept there and at 8:00am they participated in the Mass - in the Vigil the living dialogue was renewed with all the boys and girls, enthusiastic and even capable of silence and listening. They passed from enthusiasm to listening and silent prayer. To them I proposed Mary as the one who, in her smallness, more than any other, has influenced the history of the world: we called her the influencer of God. The beautiful and strong testimonies of some young people were reflected in her fiat. On Sunday morning, in the great final Eucharistic celebration, the Risen Christ, with the power of the Holy Spirit, spoke again to the young people of the world calling them to live the Gospel today, because young people are not tomorrow; no, they are the today for tomorrow. They are not in the meantime, but they are today, now, of the Church and of the world. And I appealed to the responsibility of adults, so that new generations do not lack education, work, community and family. And this is the key right now in the world, because these things are missing. Education, that is the importance of education. Work: there are so many young people who are without work. Community must always be a place where we feel welcomed, a part of the family, a part of society.
The meeting with the Bishops of Central America was for me a moment of special consolation. Together we let ourselves be taught by the testimony of the holy bishop Oscar Romero, in order to better learn how to feel with the Church - that was his episcopal motto - in the proximity of the young, the poor, the priests, the holy faithful people of God.
And a strong symbolic value was seen in the consecration of the altar of the restored Cathedral of Santa Maria La Antigua, in Panama. It has been closed for seven years for restoration. It is a sign of rediscovered beauty, for the glory of God and for the faith and the feast of his people. The Chrism which consecrates the altar is the same oil that is used for anointing the baptized, confirmed, priests and bishops. May the family of the Church, in Panama and in the whole world, draw from the Holy Spirit ever new fruitfulness, so that the pilgrimage of the young missionary disciples of Jesus Christ may continue and spread throughout the earth.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages and His Holiness offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the Lord’s blessings of joy and peace. God bless you!
In his speech, the Pope added a meditation on his recent Apostolic voyage to Panama for the XXXIV World Youth Day (Gospel passage: Lk 1:38-39).
After having summarized His catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, I want to focus with you on the Apostolic voyage to Panama that I have completed in recent days. I invite you to give thanks to the Lord with me for this grace which He has given to the Church and to the people of that beloved country. I thank the President of Panama and the other Authorities, the Bishops ... and I thank all the volunteers - there were so many of them - for their warm and open welcome, something which I also saw in the many people who came from every place to greet me with great faith and enthusiasm. One thing that struck me was the people who would raise their children up in their arms. When the popemobile was passing by, all those who had children: they would raise them up saying, Here is my pride, here is my future! And they would show me their children. But there were so many of them! And the fathers and mothers were so proud of their children. I thought: how much dignity there is in such a gesture, and how eloquent it is against the demographic winter we are experiencing here in Europe! Children are the pride of their families. Children are sources of security for the future. Demographic winter, without children, is difficult!
The reason for this trip was the World Youth Day, but the meetings with young people were intertwined with the reality of the country: the Authorities, the Bishops, young prisoners, consecrated persons and a family home. Everything was infected and amalgamated by the joyful presence of the young: it was a party for them and a party for Panama, and also for all of Central America, marked by so many dramas and in need of hope and peace, and even justice.
This World Youth Day was preceded by the meeting of young members from native and African-American peoples. This was a nice gesture: they spent five days in meetings: young indigenous people and young descendants. There are many of them in that region. They opened the door to World Day. And this is an important initiative that has shown even better the multifaceted face of the Church in Latin America: Latin America is mixed. Then, with the arrival of groups from all over the world, the great symphony of faces and languages - which is typical of this event - were formed. Seeing all the flags parade together, dancing in the hands of the joyful young people is a prophetic sign, a mark against the current trend of today's conflicting nationalisms, which raise walls and close us off from universality, from encountering other people. It is a sign that young Christians are leaven for peace in the world.
This WYD had a strong Marian imprint, because its theme was the words of the Virgin to the Angel: Behold the servant of the Lord; let it be done unto me according to your word (Lk 1:38). It was striking to hear these words spoken by the representatives of the youth from all the five continents, and above all to see them show it on their faces. As long as there are new generations able to say here I am to God, there will be a future in the world.
Among the stages of the WYD there is always the Via Crucis. Walking with Mary behind Jesus who is carrying the cross is the school of Christian life: there you learn patient, silent, concrete love. I want to tell you something: I really like to experience the Via Crucis, because it is about going with Mary behind Jesus. And I always carry with me, to do it at any time, a pocket-sized Via Crucis, which gave me the ability to be a very apostolic person in Buenos Aires. And when I have time I take advantage of it and follow the Via Crucis. You too can walk the Via Crucis, because it is a matter of following Jesus with Mary on the path of the cross, where He gave his life for us, for our redemption. In the Via Crucis one learns patient, silent and concrete love. In Panama, young people brought with Jesus and Mary the burden of the conditions of so many suffering brothers and sisters in Central America and in the whole world. Among these, there are many young victims of different forms of slavery and poverty. And in this sense, the penitential liturgy that I celebrated in a Rehabilitation home for minors and the visit to the Buon Samaritano Family Home, which houses people living with HIV / AIDS, were very significant moments.
The culmination of the WYD and the Apostolic journey were the Vigil and the Mass with the youth. In the Vigil - in that camp full of young people who experienced the Vigil, they slept there and at 8:00am they participated in the Mass - in the Vigil the living dialogue was renewed with all the boys and girls, enthusiastic and even capable of silence and listening. They passed from enthusiasm to listening and silent prayer. To them I proposed Mary as the one who, in her smallness, more than any other, has influenced the history of the world: we called her the influencer of God. The beautiful and strong testimonies of some young people were reflected in her fiat. On Sunday morning, in the great final Eucharistic celebration, the Risen Christ, with the power of the Holy Spirit, spoke again to the young people of the world calling them to live the Gospel today, because young people are not tomorrow; no, they are the today for tomorrow. They are not in the meantime, but they are today, now, of the Church and of the world. And I appealed to the responsibility of adults, so that new generations do not lack education, work, community and family. And this is the key right now in the world, because these things are missing. Education, that is the importance of education. Work: there are so many young people who are without work. Community must always be a place where we feel welcomed, a part of the family, a part of society.
The meeting with the Bishops of Central America was for me a moment of special consolation. Together we let ourselves be taught by the testimony of the holy bishop Oscar Romero, in order to better learn how to feel with the Church - that was his episcopal motto - in the proximity of the young, the poor, the priests, the holy faithful people of God.
And a strong symbolic value was seen in the consecration of the altar of the restored Cathedral of Santa Maria La Antigua, in Panama. It has been closed for seven years for restoration. It is a sign of rediscovered beauty, for the glory of God and for the faith and the feast of his people. The Chrism which consecrates the altar is the same oil that is used for anointing the baptized, confirmed, priests and bishops. May the family of the Church, in Panama and in the whole world, draw from the Holy Spirit ever new fruitfulness, so that the pilgrimage of the young missionary disciples of Jesus Christ may continue and spread throughout the earth.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages and His Holiness offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the Lord’s blessings of joy and peace. God bless you!
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