He added: “If it becomes something for old people, it will die.”
Pope Francis references St. John Paul II, who said: “If you live with young people you become young yourself.”
Another group of young people then asked Pope Francis why he chose the theme “Mary arose and went with haste” for this WYD.
He answered: “Because as soon as Mary knew she was going to be the mother of God, she didn’t stay there taking a selfie or showing off. The first thing she did was to set out on a journey, in haste, to serve, to help.”
“You too have to learn from her to set out on a journey to help others,” he said.
Pope Francis shared that he hopes to see “a seed for the world’s future” in Lisbon. “A world where love is at the center, where we can sense that we are sisters and brothers. We are at war; we need something else. A world that is not afraid of witnessing to the Gospel. A joyful world — because if we Christians have no joy, we are not credible, no one will believe us.”