WYD, from Lisbon to Seoul 2027. Pope tells young Koreans, ‘Take courage!’
On the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe, the traditional relay of the symbols of the WYD, the cross and the Marian icon, took place. The Portuguese delegation met the Korean delegation in St Peter's, which consisted of about 100 young people accompanied by Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek. In his homily, the pope turned his thoughts to accusations, approval and truth. On Myanmar, he said, “may all weapons be silenced and may a sincere and inclusive dialogue be opened.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis spoke this morning at the end of Holy Mass in St Peter’s Square, on the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe, about World Youth Day (WYD).
In fact, today was also 39th World Youth Day (WYD) celebrated in the various Churches, setting the stage for the pilgrimage leading to the 42nd edition, in Seoul in 2027, the second time in Asia after Manila in 1995. From Lisbon to Seoul. From the one continent to the other, marking the traditional passage of WYD symbols.
Indeed, as the pontiff said: “[Y]ou dear young Koreans, now it's your turn! By carrying the Cross to Asia you will proclaim Christ's love to all. Take courage!”
The WYD symbols – the Youth Cross and the Icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani – were brought by a delegation of young Portuguese to a delegation of young Koreans, accompanied by their pastors, at the end of Holy Mass in St Peter's this morning.
Approximately 100 young Portuguese were accompanied by the Patriarch Rui Manuel Sousa Valério of Lisbon, and WYD Lisbon 2023 General Coordinator, Card Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar. The Korean delegation also numbered around 100 young people, accompanied by the Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek of Seoul, and WYD Seoul 2027 General Coordinator, Bishop Paul Kyung Sang Lee.
"Take courage[*] to bear witness to the hope that we need more than ever today. There, where these symbols pass, may the certainty of God's invincible love and brotherhood among peoples grow," the Holy Father said before the relay ceremony. "And for all young victims of conflicts and wars, may the Cross of the Lord and the icon of Mary Most Holy be support and consolation."
The tradition of symbols was started by Saint John Paul II, who created WYD in 1986, so that young people "would take them all over the world".
During the solemnity that marks the conclusion of the liturgical year, the pope urged the faithful to look to the Lord as the “source and fulfilment of all things”. In his homily, he said that this contemplation is accompanied by a reality filled with wars, violence and ecological disasters. “Why is all this happening?” he asked.
Speaking to young people, the undisputed protagonists of the long-awaited global event, Francis urged them to reflect on three things: accusations, approval, and truth. The first was analysed starting from today's Gospel (Jn 18:33b-37), which is about Pilate questioning Jesus.
“Dear young people, perhaps you also feel ‘accused’ at times for following Jesus,” Francis said. “Have no worries; sooner or later, their criticism will fall through, their condemnations will prove false”.
At the same time, “Dear young people, be careful not to get carried away by illusions. Please be concrete because reality is concrete. Beware of illusions.” This concreteness is a “work of love", and what remains, as Christ teaches, “makes life beautiful! [. . .] Keep on loving! But love according to the light of the Lord; by giving your life to help others.”
On the second aspect, the pontiff cited Jesus: "My kingdom is not of this world" (Jn 18:36). Why does the Messiah do nothing to ensure a dose of success and power? The answer follows: “Jesus behaves in this way because he rejects the mentality of power. Jesus is free from it!”
Francies went on to say: “Dear young people, you too would do well to follow his example. Do not allow yourself to be dragged along by the need to be seen, approved of and praised.”
“Do not settle for being ‘stars for a day’ on social media or in any other context! I recall an occasion when a young woman wanted to be noticed, even though she was pretty, she put on all her make-up before going to the party. I thought, ‘after the make-up, what is left?’ Do not put make-up over your soul and do not put make-up over your heart. Be as you are: sincere and transparent.”
Remembering the time to dedicate to care for the elderly, he asked: “Do you visit your grandparents?”
On the third aspect, truth, Pope Francis said that Jesus, who taught us to love God and our brothers and sisters, bore witness to it. “Only in love does our existence find light and meaning,” he said.
“Sisters and brothers, it is not true, as some think, that world events have ‘escaped’ God’s control. It is not true that history is written by oppressors, tyrants and the proud.”
Francis noted that evil, sufferings, pain, everything “is ultimately subject to the judgement of God. Those who oppress people, who make wars, what will their faces look like when they stand before the Lord?”
This morning, after the Marian prayer at the Angelus, two young Koreans stood next to him at the window of the Vatican Apostolic Palace.
“Today these two young Koreans have taken the Cross used during World Youth Day, which will be in Seoul. They will take it to Korea to prepare for World Youth Day. A round of applause for the Koreans!” Francis said.
The pontiff also mentioned two new blessed, created yesterday in Barcelona: Gaietà Clausellas and Antoni Tort, a priest and a layman killed in 1936 in Spain "in hatred of the faith". “Let us give thanks to God for the great gift of these exemplary witnesses to Christ and the Gospel.”
He also mentioned the two next Saints of the Jubilee: Carlo Acutis, who will be canonised on 27 April, and Pier Giorgio Frassati, on 3 August, after receiving “an opinion from the cardinals," the pontiff said.
In the address that followed the Marian prayer, he spoke to the pilgrims in St Peter's about tomorrow, 25 November, which marks the anniversary of the first university strike in 1920 in Myanmar.
This was “the first student protest that set the country on its way to independence, and in the prospect of a peaceful and democratic season that it is still struggling to achieve today.”
The pope expressed his closeness to Myanmar’s suffering population, “particularly to those who are suffering for the ongoing fights, especially my closeness to the most vulnerable: to the children, the elderly, the sick and all refugees, including the Rohingya.”
He renewed his appeal for a lasting peace: “To all parties involved, I make a heartfelt appeal: may all weapons be silenced and may a sincere and inclusive dialogue be opened”.
[*] “Take courage, I have overcome the world” is the theme of WYD 2027.
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06/08/2023 14:48
