The enthusiastic joy of young people, who love Jesus and want all wars to stop, will be heard to the ends of the earth, Pope Leo XIV said when he welcomed tens of thousands of cheering young men and women to Rome for their Jubilee. Source: OSV News.
“Buona sera, buenas tardes, good evening!” he said after finishing a long ride in the popemobile, waving to more than 120,000 ecstatic visitors filling St Peter’s Square and the long, wide boulevard that runs between the square and Castel Sant’Angelo by the Tiber River.
The pope appeared at the end of a Mass presided over by Archbishop Rino Fisichella in St Peter’s Square on Tuesday as part of a series of welcome celebrations for the weeklong Jubilee of Youth.
“Jesus tells us you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world,” Pope Leo said in English.
“And today, your voices, your enthusiasm, your cheers, which are all for Jesus Christ, will be heard until the ends of the earth,” he said in Spanish to huge cheers.
“Today marks the beginning of a journey, the Jubilee of Hope, and the world needs messages of hope. You are this message, and you must continue to give hope to everyone,” he said.
“Let us walk together with our faith in Jesus Christ,” he said in Italian. “And our shouts must also be for peace in the world.
“Let’s all say it: We want peace in the world!” he shouted, as the crowd responded, “We want peace in the world.”
“Let us pray for peace” and be witnesses to “the peace of Jesus Christ, the light of the world that we are all seeking,” he said, as the evening twilight turned to night and the waxing crescent moon appeared brightly.
It was Pope Leo’s second “surprise” appearance on Tuesday, after arriving to greet the faithful at the end of a morning Mass presided over by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, marking the conclusion of the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers, held on Monday and Tuesday.
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World will hear young people’s joy, shouting for peace on earth, Pope says (By Carol Glatz, CNS via OSV News)
