With the call, “Do not be afraid!” Pope Francis ended his central homily at the closing Mass of World Youth Day. Organizers and security officials said some 1.5 million young people attended Sunday morning’s service in Lisbon’s Tejo Park. Seven hundred bishops and 10,000 priests concelebrated, KathPress reported Sunday. The next meeting will be held in Seoul, South Korea, in 2027.
About 3,000 young people from Austria were there. Bishops Hermann Glettler, Josef Marketz, Wilhelm Krautwaschl and Stephan Turnovszky accompanied them.
The pope urged participants to take the joy of the Lisbon days home with them and do good there. “If we return home as egoists, the light we take from here will go out. We will return shining only if we love like Jesus.”
Francis encouraged young people to listen to Jesus. “The whole secret is: listen to Jesus. He teaches us the way of love. Listen to him. That’s all: everything there is to do in life is contained in these words.”
Most of the young people who attended had spent the night in the open air on the banks of the Tagus River. The previous evening, the pope had led a long vigil there with prayers and songs.
After nearly two weeks, Sunday morning’s service marked the end of World Youth Day – the world’s largest church event. Francis said the next World Youth Day will be held in 2027 in South Korea’s capital, Seoul. The pope had been attending the major event since Thursday, with the number of participants growing daily. The next World Youth Day in South Korea will be only the second in Asia held once in the Philippines.
- source: APA/picture: youtube.com
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