Address of Pope Francis to the volunteers of WYD Lisbon 2023

2023-08-06 18:09:00

August 6, 2023 / 11:09am

Pope Francis thanked the volunteers for their tireless work in organizing the World Youth Day (WYD) Lisbon 2023 events at the Passeio Marítimo de Algés, before bidding farewell to Portugal.

The Holy Father compared the dedication of the WYD volunteers with the actions of the Virgin Mary, the disciples and Jesus himself, who acted out of love and the urgency of meeting with others.

Here is the full text of his speech:

Dear friends: Good morning and thank you!

Thanks to the Patriarch of Lisbon for his words, to Bishop Aguiar and to all of you for having worked so hard and so well, making these unforgettable days possible. They have worked for months, discreetly, without noise or prominence, so that we could all be here singing together: “Jesus lives and does not leave us alone: ​​we will no longer stop loving.” Not only that, they have been an example of a team working together. And you, more than a job, it has been a service, thank you. The service performed by the Virgin Mary, who “rose up and left without delay” (Lk 1,39) to serve her cousin Elizabeth, feeling the urgency to share the joy in the service, to share the joy in the service. Joy in service. Let us think of Zacchaeus, who climbed up a tree to see Jesus and quickly got down, something had touched him, and he wanted to find Jesus and receive him in his house (cf. Lk 19,6). Let us think of the women and the disciples, who at Easter ran from the upper room to the tomb, and then returned to announce to the others that Christ had risen (cf. Jn 20:1-18). Those who love do not sit idly by, those who love serve and those who love run to serve, run to give themselves in the service of others. And you ran, you ran a lot in these months. I could only see the end, these days, see while they responded to a thousand needs. Sometimes with a face marked by fatigue. Other times, a little overwhelmed by the urgencies of the moment. But I always noticed one thing: that they had luminous eyes, luminous with the joy of service, thank you. You made this world youth meeting possible. They did great things but with small gestures, like offering a bottle of water to a stranger, and that creates friendship. You ran a lot but not with the frantic and aimless race that is sometimes what this world asks of us, no, you ran in a different way. They ran a race that leads to meeting others to serve others in the name of Jesus. And you came to Lisbon to serve and not to be served. Thank you! Thank you so much!

And now I would like to be the amplifier, so that what the testimonies have told us resonates, the testimonies of Chiara, Francisco and Felipe. The three of them told us about a special encounter with Jesus. They have reminded us that the most beautiful encounter, the engine of all the others, the one that makes us walk seriously, that leads life forward, is with Jesus, it is the most important encounter of our lives. Renewing the personal encounter with Jesus every day is the center of the Christian life. And you have to renew it every day to keep it fresh, not only in your head but in your heart. We experience that a small “yes” to Jesus can change life. But also the “yes” said to others do good; when they are for service. At the time of exhaustion, you encouraged yourself and kept saying yes to serve others. Thank you for this.

And you, Francisco, said that here you have found something that you needed and that you were not even looking for. Walking, working, praying with others, you understood that you could not allow yourself to be imprisoned by chaos, by the “unmade beds” of the past, nor live with a heart tormented by feelings of imperfection, but rather, with the help of Jesus and of the brothers, you were given the opportunity to rearrange “the room of your life”. And this is very beautiful, this day is useful, it helps so much to reorder our lives. Why, for the day? No, because of Jesus who is here in our midst and shows himself to us.

To put order in one’s life, things are useless, distractions are useless, money is useless, it is necessary to dilate the heart; and if you dilate your heart you are going to put your life in order. Don’t be afraid, expand your heart.

Finally you, Felipe, among the many beautiful experiences that you have shared, you have mentioned one that I want to underline, you have said that you have lived a double encounter here: an encounter with Jesus and an encounter with others. Meeting Jesus and meeting others. And this is very important. The encounter with Jesus is a personal, unique moment that can only be described and recounted up to a certain point, but it always comes thanks to a journey traveled in company, accomplished thanks to the help of others. Finding Jesus and finding him in service to others.

Friends, to finish, I would like to leave an image. As many of us know, to the north of Lisbon there is a town, Nazaré, where you can admire waves that reach up to thirty meters high and are a world attraction, especially for surfers who challenge them. In these days you have also faced a real wave; not of water, but of young people, young people like you who have flooded this city. But, with God’s help, with much generosity and mutual support, you have braved the great wave. You have braved this great wave, notice how brave you are, huh? notice. Thank you, obliged.

I want to tell you to continue like this, continue to ride the waves of love in the waves of charity, be surfers of love, be surfers of love, and that is like a task that I entrust to you at this moment: that the service, that the service that you have made this World Youth Day the first of many waves of good and each time you will be taken higher, closer to God, and this will allow you, from a better perspective, to see your path. Thanks to all of you. Good way! And I ask you to pray for me.

Pope Francis, born on December 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires (Argentina), is the first Latin American Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, assuming the papacy on March 13, 2013. His close style and his emphasis on mercy they have left a distinctive mark on his pontificate.