Pope Benedict XVI grasped the hands of a sick boy who asked the pontiff for healing prayers at a pediatric hospital and warned thousands of youths gathered in a Genoa piazza against falling prey to passing fads as he visited the northern port city on Sunday. At Gaslini hospital, which treats sick children from Italy and abroad, the pope was greeted by a bald 9-year-old Sicilian boy named Pietro, who said he had been at the hospital for three years.
"Sometimes I am tired of staying here at the hospital," Pietro told the pontiff. He did not specify his illness. "In the name of all the children who need to be cured, I would like to thank you for your visit. I know that you love us. I ask that you pray for us so we can quickly get well."
The pope grasped Pietro's hands, and presented him with a medal.
Benedict offered words of encouragement to the young patients and their parents, saying that "even in moments of trepidation ... God does not abandon us ever ... not even in the darkest and difficult moments."
The 420-bed hospital was founded by Gerolamo Gaslini in 1931 after the death of his 12-year-old daughter.
Benedict later greeted thousands of young people who gathered in central Piazza Matteotti with a warning about false youth, saying that those who adhere to values "don't ever get old, even if the body adheres to the rules of nature."
"I urge you to be young, not to follow fashion. Fashion burns out in the blink of an eye, in a frenetic and dazed pursuit," the pontiff said.
The pope beamed as multicolored confetti showered down on the piazza.
Benedict reminded the young people of his trip to Australia in July for the Catholic Church's World Youth Day celebrations.
Benedict later celebrated an open-air Mass for some 35,000 followers in Piazza della Vittoria. After traveling through the city waving to admirers from his popemobile, he arrived in the square just as a storm let up and sunbeams lit up the square.
He arrived in northern Liguria Saturday for his first Italian trip of the year, an overnight visit that took him to two Marian sanctuaries.
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