“Be not afraid,” Pope Francis told young Catholics Sunday at the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, echoing the well-known call of his predecessor and the founder of the international youth gathering, St. John Paul II.
Newsdesk (06/08/2023 11:52, Gaudium Press) “Dear young people, I would like to look into the eyes of each one of you and tell you: Be not afraid, be not afraid,” he said Aug. 6 on a sunny morning in what organizers dubbed the “Field of Grace.”
“I tell you something very beautiful: It is no longer me, it is Jesus himself who is looking at you in this moment, he is looking at you,” the pope continued. “He knows you, he knows the heart of each one of you, he knows the life of each one of you, he knows the joys, he knows the sadness, the successes and the failures.”
Jesus, Pope Francis told young people, “knows your hearts. He sees our hearts. And he tells you today here in Lisbon, on this World Youth Day: ‘Be not afraid, be not afraid, take heart, be not afraid.’”
Francis celebrated Mass on the feast of the Transfiguration for an estimated 1.5 million people in Parque Tejo, where young people and their leaders had camped out overnight following a prayer vigil. Approximately 10,000 priests and 700 bishops concelebrated.
The Mass marked the official end of the international youth gathering, which drew hundreds of thousands of teenagers, young adults, and their leaders from almost every country to the Portuguese capital Aug. 1–6.
The week included prayer, Mass, music concerts, religious talks, and cultural events, among other activities.
“‘Lord, it is good that we are here!’ (Mt 17:4),” Pope Francis said in his homily, quoting from the day’s Gospel reading. “We also want to make these words that the apostle Peter said to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration our own after these intense days.”
“It is beautiful what we are experiencing with Jesus, what we have lived together, and it is beautiful how we have prayed with so much joy in our hearts. And then we can ask ourselves: What do we take with us when we return to everyday life?” he said.
Pope Francis also made an appeal for peace in the world and in Ukraine during a short address before the Angelus at the end of Mass.
“Let us accompany with our thoughts and prayers those who could not be with us because of armed conflicts and wars,” he said. “Indeed, there are many of them in our world. In thinking of this continent, I feel great sorrow for beloved Ukraine, which continues to suffer greatly.”
“Allow me, as an older person, to share with you young people a dream that I carry within me: It is the dream of peace, the dream of young people praying for peace, living in peace and building a peaceful future,” he continued.
“As we pray the Angelus, let us place the future of humanity into the hands of Mary, Queen of Peace. As you return home, please continue to pray for peace.”
Francis told young people: “You are a sign of peace for the world, showing how different nationalities, languages, and histories can unite instead of divide. You are the hope of a different world. Thank you for this. Onwards!”
The next World Youth Day will be held in Seoul, South Korea, in 2027, Pope Francis announced at the conclusion of the final Mass of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.
“The next World Youth Day will be in Asia,” the pope said following the Aug. 6 concluding Mass of the 15th international World Youth Day, immediately before reciting the Angelus prayer. The announcement was met by loud cheers and applause.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
