2023-08-06 09:04:01
People gather on the day Pope Francis leads the last mass for World Youth Day at Tejo Park, in Lisbon, Portugal, August 6, 2023. GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE / REUTERS
Pope Francis was to preside, Sunday, August 6 in the morning, the final mass of World Youth Day, the culmination of a week of festive, cultural and spiritual meetings in Lisbon. During a vigil on Saturday evening, the world’s biggest Catholic event gathered a strong human tide of 1.5 million believers in a park in the Portuguese capital. The number of people present on the huge esplanade set up for the occasion at the edge of the mouth of the Tagus was communicated by the Vatican, citing an estimate by the Portuguese authorities.
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The pope appeared in a “Popemobile” shortly after 7 p.m. to preside over this giant festival-like prayer vigil, which began with songs with a pop rock tone, sung by hundreds of choristers and musicians on the colossal altar. which dominates the site of this former landfill. It is at the foot of this altar, in the middle of tents, flags of many countries and temporary sanitary installations, that the young pilgrims started dancing in a festive atmosphere, framed by a heavy security device.
Arriving throughout the afternoon under a blazing sun, bags on their backs and provided with their sleeping bags, many pilgrims were preparing to spend the night there, while the day of Sunday is likely to be marked by temperatures that can reach 40°C.
Pope calls on young people to “walk” and “get up”
Saturday evening, evoking in turn football, exams or moments of fatigue, the pope called on young people to ” to walk “ et “get up” in case of failure, engaging in a dialogue with the huge crowd. Since the beginning of his visit, the longest of a pope in this Iberian country, he has already addressed many topics, such as ecology, social networks, the war in Ukraine, or child crime within the Church. .
Read also: WYD: in Lisbon, Pope Francis calls to “listen to the cry” of victims of pedocrime in the Church
“Meeting around the pope and praying together are very strong moments that give hope, which strengthen us in our personal faith”testified to Agence France-Presse a 26-year-old French woman. “What strikes me is really becoming aware of the universality of the Church. All the countries are represented, we hear all the languages spoken and we see the same joy on the faces »added, cap on her head, the young woman who came with a religious community from Mont-de-Marsan, in the south-west of France.
“We came on foot from Barcelona, we left forty days ago… It’s a pilgrimage to see the pope”confided for his part a 19-year-old Spanish student, having traveled the 1,300 kilometers which separated him from Lisbon.
Read also: “WYD gave me the strength to better assume my faith”
On Saturday morning, 200,000 faithful had already gathered at the Fatima shrine in central Portugal, where Jorge Bergoglio made a two-hour whirlwind visit, to recite the Rosary with young sick and disabled people. On Thursday and Friday, up to 800,000 faithful flooded the streets of central Lisbon before massing in a park overlooking the city center to offer him a rock star welcome, still according to estimates from local authorities communicated by the Vatican. .
After Sunday Mass, at the end of which the faithful will learn about the country that will host the next WYD, the Pope plans to meet the thousands of volunteers who participated in the organization of the event, before leaving the country around 17 o’clock.
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