At the end of Sunday's WYD mass in Madrid, Pope Benedict recited the
Angelus prayer and entrusted the hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims
present to the care of Our Lady.
He also announced that the next World
Youth Day will be celebrated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2013.
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Dear Friends,
You are now about to go back home. Your friends will want to know how
you have changed after being in this lovely city with the Pope and with
hundreds of thousands of other young people from around the world. What
are you going to tell them? I invite you to give a bold witness of
Christian living to them. In this way you will give birth to new
Christians and will help the Church grow strongly in the hearts of many
others.
During these days, how often I have thought of the young people at
home who are waiting for your return! Take my affectionate greetings to
them, to those less fortunate, to your families and to the Christian
communities that you come from.
Let me also express my gratitude to the Bishops and priests who are
present in such great numbers at this Day. To them all I extend my
deepest thanks, encouraging them to continue to work pastorally among
young people with enthusiasm and dedication.
I now commend all young people in the world, especially you, dear
friends, to the loving intercession of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Star
of the new evangelization and Mother of young people, and we greet her
with the same words as did the Angel of the Lord: […]
After the Angelus:
[Spanish] I greet the Archbishop of the Forces affectionately and I
warmly thank the Spanish Air Force, which very generously permitted
Cuatro Vientos Air Base on this, the centenary of the foundation of the
Spanish Air Force. I place all Spanish Air Force personnel and their
families under the maternal protection of Our Lady of Loreto.
In this context, I recall that yesterday marked the third anniversary
of the grave accident at Barajas Airport which caused many deaths and
injuries, and I express my spiritual closeness and my deep affection for
all those touched by that unfortunate event, and well as for the
families of the victims, whose souls we commend to the mercy of God.
I am pleased now to announce that the next World Youth Day will be
held in 2013, in Rio de Janeiro. Even now, let us ask the Lord to assist
all those who will organize it, and to ease the journey there of young
people from all over the world, so that they will be able to join me in
that beautiful city of Brazil.
Dear friends, before we say good-bye, and while the young people of
Spain pass on the World Youth Day cross to the young people of Brazil,
as Successor of Peter I entrust all of you present with this task: make
the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ known to the whole world! He
wants you to be the apostles of the twenty-first century and the
messengers of his joy. Do not let him down! Thank you very much.
[French] My dear young people of the French-speaking world, today
Christ asks you to be rooted in him and with him, to build your lives
upon him who is our rock. He sends you out to be his witnesses,
courageous and without anxiety, authentic and credible! Do not be afraid
to be Catholic, and to be witnesses to those around you in simplicity
and sincerity! Let the Church find in you and in your youthfulness
joyful missionaries of the Good News of salvation!
[English] I greet all the English-speaking young people present here
today! As you return home, take back with you the good news of Christ’s
love which we have experienced in these unforgettable days. Fix your
eyes upon him, deepen your knowledge of the Gospel and bring forth
abundant fruit! God bless all of you until we meet again!
[German] My dear friends! Faith is not a theory. To believe is to
enter into a personal relationship with Jesus and to live in friendship
with him in fellowship with others, in the communion of the Church.
Entrust the whole of your lives to Christ and bring your friends to find
their way to the source of life, to God. May the Lord make you happy
and joy-filled witnesses of his love.
[Italian] My dear young Italians! Greetings to all of you. The
Eucharist that we have celebrated is the risen Christ present and living
in our midst: through him, your lives are rooted and built upon Christ,
strong in faith. With this confidence, depart from Madrid and tell
everyone what you have seen and heard. Respond with joy to the Lord’s
call, follow him and remain always united to him: you will bear much
fruit!
[Portuguese] Dear Portuguese-speaking young people and friends, you
have met Jesus Christ! You will be swimming against the tide in a
society with a relativistic culture which wishes neither to seek nor
hold on to the truth. But it was for this moment in history, with its
great challenges and opportunities, that the Lord sent you, so that,
through your faith, the Good News of Jesus might continue to resound
throughout the earth. I hope to see you again in two years’ time at the
nest World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Till then, let us pray
for each other, witnessing to the joy that brings forth life, rooted in
and built upon Christ. Until we meet again, my dear young people! God
bless you all!
[Polish] Dear young Poles, strong in the faith, rooted in Christ! May
the gifts you have received from God during these days bear in you
abundant fruit. Be his witnesses. Take to others the message of the
Gospel. With your prayers and example of life, help Europe to rediscover
its Christian roots.