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21. Pope to WYD volunteers: May you always be generous

In one of his final engagements in Rio de Janeiro, Pope Francis met late Sunday with hundreds of volunteers who had helped make World Youth Day 2013 a tremendous success. Thanking them for their tireless efforts, he said, “With your smiles, your acts of kindness, and your willingness to serve, you have shown that ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’.”
The Holy Father tied the volunteers’ service to the theme of World Youth Day. “Every one of you,” he said, “each in his or her own way, was a means enabling thousands of young people to ‘prepare the way’ to meet Jesus. And this is the most beautiful service we can give as missionary disciples.” He called on them to continue to “be generous with God and with others.”
Turning to the theme of vocations, Pope Francis said, “God calls you to make definitive choices, and He has a plan for each of you.” Some, he said, are called to marriage. Although many people consider marriage unfashionable, the Pope asked the young people “to be revolutionaries, to swim against the tide.” “Yes,” he continued, “I am asking you to rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary and that ultimately believes that you are incapable of responsibility, that you are incapable of true love. I have confidence in you and I pray for you. Have the courage ‘to swim against the tide’. Have the courage to be happy.”
Pope Francis spoke too about the call to priesthood and religious life. “I will never forget the day, 21 September – I was 17 years old – when, after stopping in the Church of San José de Flores to go to Confession, I first heard God calling me.” He told the young people “Do not be afraid of what God asks of you! It is worth saying ‘yes’ to God.”
Finally, the Holy Father spoke to those who do not know yet what they are called to do. “Ask the Lord,” he said, “and He will show you the way.”
Pope Francis concluded his remarks by once again thanking the volunteers for all they had done. “You can always count on my prayers,” he said, “and I know that I can count on yours.”

Read the full text of Pope Francis’ remarks to the World Youth Day volunteers:

Dear Volunteers, Good evening!
I could not return to Rome without first thanking all of you in a personal and affectionate way for the work and dedication with which you have accompanied, helped, and served the thousands of young pilgrims, and for the countless little ways by which you have made this World Youth Day an unforgettable experience of faith. With your smiles, your acts of kindness and your willingness to serve, you have shown that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
The service you have given during these days brings to mind the mission of Saint John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus. Every one of you, each in his or her own way, was a means enabling thousands of young people to “prepare the way” to meet Jesus. And this is the most beautiful service we can give as missionary disciples. To prepare the way so that all people may know, meet and love the Lord. To you who in these days responded with such readiness and generosity to the call to be volunteers for World Youth Day, I say: May you always be generous with God and with others: one loses nothing thereby, but gains great enrichment in life.
God calls you to make definitive choices, and he has a plan for each of you: to discover that plan and to respond to your vocation is to move toward personal fulfilment. God calls each of us to be holy, to live his life, but he has a particular path for each one of us. Some are called to holiness through family life in the sacrament of Marriage. Today, there are those who say that marriage is out of fashion; in a culture of relativism and the ephemeral, many preach the importance of “enjoying” the moment. They say that it is not worth making a life-long commitment, making a definitive decision, “for ever”, because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. I ask you, instead, to be revolutionaries, to swim against the tide; yes, I am asking you to rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary and that ultimately believes that you are incapable of responsibility, that you are incapable of true love. I have confidence in you and I pray for you. Have the courage “to swim against the tide”. Have the courage to be happy.

The Lord calls some to be priests, to give themselves to him more fully, so as to love all people with the heart of the Good Shepherd. Some he calls to the service of others in the religious life: devoting themselves in monasteries to praying for the good of the world, and in various areas of the apostolate, giving of themselves for the sake of all, especially those most in need. I will never forget that day, 21 September – I was 17 years old – when, after stopping in the Church of San José de Flores to go to confession, I first heard God calling me. Do not be afraid of what God asks of you! It is worth saying “yes” to God. In him we find joy!
Dear young people, some of you may not yet know what you will do with your lives. Ask the Lord, and he will show you the way. The young Samuel kept hearing the voice of the Lord who was calling him, but he did not understand or know what to say, yet with the help of the priest Eli, in the end he answered: Speak, Lord, for I am listening (cf. 1 Sam 3:1-10). You too can ask the Lord: What do you want me to do? What path am I to follow?
Dear friends, I thank you once more for all you have done during these days. Do not forget what you have experienced here! You can always count on my prayers, and I know I can count on yours.

22. Journalists' final verdict on World Youth Day: "Extraordinary"

Even for jaded journalists World Youth Day came as a surprise. The organisation was appalling. Public transport collapsed. The ATMs ran out of money. The field where the young people were supposed to sleep overnight and attend Mass on Sunday turned into a quagmire after heavy rain. Even the mayor of Rio de Janeiro admitted that the city had scored “closer to zero than ten”. The three million young people who gathered on Rio’s famous Copacabana beach were wet, crowded, sleepless, and standing in queues for foetid portable toilets.
But there were few complaints. Instead, the atmosphere was upbeat and cheerful. The Pope, the new Pope, the first Latin American Pope, was there. It was a time of joy.



“After more than 25 years of covering wars, drug trafficking, riots, protests, coup d’états and, yes, five Papal tours in Latin America, I have to admit that I am not very easy to impress,” wrote Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera’s Latin American editor. “But without hesitation, I confess that the scene on Copacabana Beach on Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday was extraordinary.”


Sometimes the media misses a story which is right under their noses. If the Pope can draw three million young people from all over the world to an event like this, is Christianity really in its twilight years? Will the next generation really be godless and secular?

23. All the numbers on WYD 2013

Brazil, 01 August 2013: The World Youth Day Press office revealed the final number of people who attended WYD 2013. According to them, more than 3.5 million people participated RIO2013 World Youth Day, which included events in Copacabana, the Quinta da Boa Vista, River Center and in various parishes in the city. On the final day, Sunday, 28 July, 3.7 million people attended the events in Copacabana beach. The organizers received 427,000 entries from 175 countries.

Countries with the highest number of entries were: Brazil, Argentina, USA, Chile, Italy, Venezuela, France, Paraguay, Peru and Mexico. Among the registered participants 55% were women, and 45% men. 60% of the public enrolled were between 19 and 34 years.

6,500 accredited journalists from 57 countries registered for WYD 2013. There were a total of 264 catechesis sessions in 25 languages.

A total of 644 Bishops enrolled for WYD, of whom 28 were cardinals. 7,814 priests and 632 deacons were also registered.
Ministry of Tourism in Brazil informed that the visitors spent 1.8 billion Reais
Audience:
July 23: 600,000 people
July 25: 1.2 million people
July 26: 2 million
July 27: 3.5 million people
July 28: 3.7 million people
427,000 entries from 175 countries

Countries with the highest number of entries: Brazil, Argentina, USA, Chile, Italy, Venezuela, France, Paraguay, Peru and Mexico.
Registered with hosting order: 180,000 approx.
Accommodation capacity: 356,400.
Approximately 800 artists participated in the Central Acts.
60,000 volunteers.
6,500 accredited journalists from 57 countries.
Local 264 of catechesis, in 25 languages.
100 confessionals placed in the Career Fair and Largo da Carioca.
4 million wafers produced, 800,000 for Mass Shipping.
Bishops 644 enrolled, of whom 28 were cardinals.
7,814 priests and 632 deacons registered.
Urban Cleaning: the Comlurb collected 345 tons of organic waste and 45 tons of recyclable materials throughout the week of WYD. This number represents 10% less than it collected in New Year's Eve in 2012/2013.


24.  World Youth Day in Rio: What do you remember?

Sean-Patrick Lovett followed the trip for Vatican Radio in Rio. His final reflections:
So this is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Time for the famous last words. The final wrap. The concluding comments. I could wow you with spectacular word-play. I could woo you with semantic effects. Instead I shall do neither. What’s the point? You saw the pictures, you watched the videos, you read the articles, you heard the reports (at least I hope you did). So everything you ever needed to know about the 28th World Youth Day in Rio you already know.
But what do you remember?
Throngs of flag-waving, chanting, cheering, singing, praying, young people extending for as far as the eye can see? A motorcade moving slowly through a vibrating, pulsating mass of humanity while a smiling Pope gestures, waves, and dispenses blessings to left and right? All this against one of the most breathtakingly beautiful natural backdrops in the world: the beach of Copacabana and the mountain of Corcovado. And of course you remember the babies – babies and more babies, being kissed and cuddled and caressed by the Pope. But maybe you were paying particular attention and you also recall a visit to a slum and a hospital and a meeting with young prisoners and a prayer vigil and a papal pilgrimage to a Marian shrine…
But do you remember what he said?
“Promote justice and dialogue to hear the cry of the poor”, “Serve the community and a culture of encounter”, “Christ shares the crosses we carry in our lives”, “Is ours a Church that can still warm hearts?”, “Grandparents are important: the aged and the young build the future together”, “Faith isn’t a fruit-salad: don’t water it down”, “The Church is close to those suffering from addictions”, “Christian hope means being surprised by God”, “We cannot be part of a throwaway culture”, “Ours is a revolutionary Faith”, “Those who don’t go to Church are the VIP’s invited to the Lord’s table”, “We must learn how to embrace those in need”, “Jesus asks us to play on his team”…

Should I continue or is it all coming back to you now? The words and messages of Pope Francis at the 28th World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Because, when all is said and done, the only famous last words that really matter…are these.

(pictured below… the Papal residence and bedroom While Pope Francis was in Brazil)


25. Five Thousand Youth Offer Themselves for Priesthood and Religious Life

A Vocational Meeting organized by the Neocatechumenal Way was held on July 29, in Rio which was attended by an estimated 50,000 youth from all over the world. Before concluding, a vocational call was made 3,000 young men answered the call to enter the seminary while 2,000 young women answered the call to enter the consecrated life.
A Vocational Meeting organized by the Neocatechumenal Way was held on Monday, July 29, in Rio de Janeiro which was attended by an estimated 50,000 youth from all over the world. The ecclesial reality hosts the meeting after every World Youth Day, which is moved by the desire to gather the fruits from the event.
The meeting, which was presided by Archbishop Orani Tempesta of Rio, was attended by five cardinals: Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna; Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston; Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney; and Cardinal Odilo Scherer, Archbishop of Sao Paulo. Also present were 75 bishops and archbishops as well as many itinerant catechists from the itinerary of Christian initiation for adults.
The meeting, which was flocked with people from all over the world, took place at the Congress Center of Riocentro at 2:30 pm (local time) and was carried out by the initiators and international responsible team of the Neocatechumenal Way: Kiko Argüello, Carmen Hernández and Fr. Mario Pezzi. The largest groups of pilgrims present came from Brazil, the United States, Italy and Spain.
After the presentation of the cardinals and other prelates, Argüello continued the meeting announcing the kerygma, and before concluding, made a vocational call to send missionary priests to Asia. 3,000 young men answered the call to enter the seminary while 2,000 young women answered the call to enter the consecrated life. These youth will begin, in their respective countries, a process that will help them to discern if this is the vocation to while God is calling them to.