Pope Francis: “Cherish the living memory of the World Youth Day”

“You still cherish the memory of the Day, don't you? It is a memory that is not to be packed away or left alone in photo albums. It should be a living memory, and you have to keep it alive”. These are the words that Pope Francis pronounced a few days ago in a video message recorded by Cardinal-designate Monsignor Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar, Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon and President of the WYD Lisbon 2023 Foundation, who was received in an audience in the Apostolic Palace. So, just over one month since the WYD in Lisbon, there comes an invitation from the Pope to “keep alive” the memory of the Day: “And how do you keep something alive? By transmitting it”, explains Pope Francis, "by giving it to others. A family is kept alive through the children who carry on the family, and the parents who then become grandparents”.

Once again, the Pope recalls the connection between the elderly and the youth, who are invited to share their WYD experience at their university, school, workplace: “Tell others about what you experienced, what you lived, about that crowd of more than one and a half million people who were there, and especially what you felt”. Lastly, the Pope asks young people to be "missionaries, sowers, witnesses" of what they have experienced and he sends them his thanks "for the witness you have given. And now it is your turn: to be witnesses. May God bless you, may Our Lady watch over you. And do not forget to pray for me”.