“In these and all the other saints, both known and unknown, we discover the deepest and truest face of this city and we become aware of the legacy of values handed down to us by the generations of Christians who have gone before us,” he said. “It is a very rich legacy. We need to be worthy of it. It is a responsibility of which the very stones of the city’s ancient buildings remind us. Indeed it is these spiritual values that make possible mutual comprehension between individuals and peoples, between different cultures and civilizations.”
He extended another a warm greeting to the representatives of different Christian denominations and other religions, whose presence at WYD, he said, marks a step forward on the path towards reconciliation and unity.
“You represent those distant peoples who came to know Christ through the Magi and who were brought together as the new People of God, the Church, which gathers men and women from every culture,” the Pope told the young people.
“Today it is your task to live and breathe the Church’s universality. Let yourselves be inflamed by the fire of the Spirit, so that a new Pentecost will renew your hearts,” he said.
“Through you, may other young people everywhere come to recognize in Christ the true answer to their deepest aspirations, and may they open their hearts to receive the Word of God Incarnate, who died and rose from the dead for the salvation of the world,” he concluded.
The young people then prayed the Our Father and the Hail Mary with the Pope and Cardinal Meisner for the repose of the soul of Br. Roger, the founder of the Taize Community who was killed Monday.
Rona Chavez of Toronto, Canada, said the Pope’s message was one of hope. “He is calling us to go beyond our capabilities and search for Jesus, like the Magi,” said the 27-year-old Filipino.
For 23-year-old Fernando Serrano, it was very important to participate in Benedict’s first WYD. “It was important to support Pope Benedict because Germany is not a very Catholic country,” he said.
The first-time pilgrim traveled with 300 other young people from the diocese of Cordoba, Spain. “I am grateful to him,” Serrano continued. “We don’t know him very well yet but he is still close to the young people.”
A group of 80 pilgrims from nine dioceses in Haiti watched the Pope from the riverbank, and then moved over to the big screen for what followed at the cathedral.
“The Pope’s message was stimulating,” said Fr. Clarke de la Cruz, a professor at the Grand Seminary in Haiti. “He invited the young people to a greater understanding of the Church. He encouraged young people in their search for God. He invited them to look around and contribute in the ways that God is calling us.”
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