UPDATE: Don’t be afraid to change the world, pope tells youths at WYD closing Mass
LISBON, Portugal (CNS) — To end “Catholic Woodstock” — as World Youth Day has been called by the Portuguese press — Pope Francis told 1.5 million weary-eyed and sleep-deprived young people in Lisbon not to let their “great dreams” of changing the world be “stopped by fear.”
Pope to young people at WYD: God calls your authentic, not virtual, self
LISBON, Portugal (CNS) — Before a sea of waving flags representing countries large and small from across the globe, Pope Francis told some 500,000 singing, shouting and swaying young people that God has called each person to him by name, not their social media handle.
Pope prays for WYD: The church is not a ‘club’ for the elderly
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church is not a “club” for the elderly; it needs the participation of young people to keep it alive and ensure it does not “grow old,” Pope Francis said. In a video message released July 27 to present his prayer intention for the month of August, “For World Youth Day,” the pope responded to questions from young people around the world in the buildup to WYD 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, which was scheduled to begin Aug. 1.
