In lead up to World Youth Day, Francis asks us to have young pilgrims in prayerWhile thousands of young people from around the world arrive in Panama for the World Youth Day that will take place from January 22 to 27, Pope Francis asked that we pray that young people, especially in Latin America, follow Mary’s example in sharing the joy of her Son.
At the initiative of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network and in collaboration with World Youth Day, Francis invites the world to pray “that young people, especially in Latin America, follow the example of Mary and respond to the call of the Lord to communicate the joy of the Gospel to the world.”
The pontiff invites these young people, who are arriving from the most varied countries of the world, overcoming all kinds of cultural, economic, and social differences, to find “in the Virgin Mary a reason for joy and a source of inspiration.”
He encourages them “take advantage of the World Youth Day in Panama to contemplate Christ, together with Mary.”
Pope Francis also invites each of them to pray the rosary for peace, in their own language, and to ask for the strength to dream.
Jesuit Father Frédéric Fornos, international director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which includes the Eucharistic Youth Movement, commented on the pope’s prayer intention:
Where does Mary’s joy come from? It comes from her ‘yes’ to the Lord, from having opened her heart and offered her life to the service of her mission,” he said. He went on to recall the pope’s message to young people on the occasion of the World Youth Day, in which Francis told them, “When God has a proposition for us, like the one He had for Mary. They are not to extinguish our dreams, but to ignite aspirations. To respond to God positively is to make a first step towards being happy and towards making many people happy.
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