(ANS - Lisbon) - As happened several times after international trips, on his flight back from Portugal to the Vatican Pope Francis granted a press conference to accredited journalists, answering them various questions. His health, migration, reception in the Church, abuse... so many topics were addressed. But the Pope himself wanted to put the focus back on World Youth Day and what he experienced during these days in Lisbon in the midst of hundreds of thousands of young people from all over the world.
(ANS – Lisbon) – Pope Francis left Lisbon with a final appointment, one with the young people whose commitment and effort made World Youth Day possible: "May the service you have given be the first of many waves of goodness."
(ANS - Lisbon) - Pope Francis spoke to more than one and a half million young people gathered in Tejo Park in Lisbon for the final act of World Youth Day 2023. To them, who are the present and the future, he repeats that they must not become discouraged and that they must not fear even when they feel powerless in the face of the world's great issues; on the contrary, "the Church and the world need you like the soil to the land".
(ANS – Lisbon) – Life is about walking onwards and if you fall you need help to get up. It means constant training because nothing in the world is free, except the love of Jesus. This is the mandate that Pope Francis entrusted to the many young people, about one and a half million, who filled the huge Parque Tejo in Lisbon, and who to settle down with mats, sleeping bags, thermal blankets but also tents for the WYD Vigil from late morning, the penultimate act of a week of meetings on Portuguese soil. They arrived in the Campo da Graça after about 8-10 kilometres on foot, peacefully but joyfully invading the streets of the capital.
(ANS - Lisbon) - Pope Francis' programme for the day of 4 August was full of meetings and appointments with various people and realities, culminating in the afternoon Stations of the Cross.
(ANS - Lisbon) - The young people of World Youth Day (WYD) formed an imaginary Calvary climbing up and down from the scaffolding that forms the large stage set up on the Meeting Hill in Lisbon's Edward VII Park. From station to station they carry the cross of Christ aloft. They fall and get up again, as in the building site of life, but they are not alone: Jesus walks with them. This was recalled by Pope Francis, who in his speech urged the 800,000 young people present to say it all: "Jesus walks for me", because "no one has more love than he who gives his life", for his friends and for others.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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Italy – Cultivating friendship with God. Interview with Fr Marco Panero, SDB, author of "In the Tent of Meeting"
(ANS – Rome) – Today we are interviewing Fr Marco Panero, Salesian, professor of Moral Philosophy at the Pontifical Salesian University and Councillor of the Apostolic Penitentiary. His volume of meditations is in the bookstores and is particularly suitable for this time of Lent, with the intriguing title: "In the tent of meeting. Meditations on spiritual life " (Edizioni Ancora, 2023 – ISBN 978-88-514-2783-2).
EDITORIAL
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“Speaking with the Heart”: A great Antidote for the Ills of today’s world
‘Revolutionize the world with your kindness, by speaking with your heart’, is the dream that Pope Francis envisions for humanity through his 57th World Communication Day message, that falls on this Ascension Sunday, 21st May 2023. ‘Speak with your heart in truth and charity’, and this is the best antidote that can cure the ills of today’s society.
EVENTS
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Italy – "Labs To Future": the final event of the "Labs To Learn" project in Valdocco
(ANS – Turin) – The final event of the "Labs to Learn" project was held on Tuesday, 5 March 2024, entitled "Labs To Future: The path – The results – The challenges" . The project was selected by the "Con i Bambini" social enterprise within the framework of the Foundation for the Fight against Child Educational Poverty and came into being with the intention of combating early school leaving and preventing educational poverty, increasing the number of young people with difficulties who fulfil their school obligation, access higher education and/or job placement, and opening the way for personal growth according to their inclinations and aspirations.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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United States – INT’L WOMEN’S DAY: Salesian programs focus on inclusion for girls and women
(ANS – New Rochelle) - Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian organizations and countries around the globe in celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8. The day honors the economic, political and social achievements of women while focusing the world’s attention on areas requiring further action.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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CHEERFUL AND SERENE EVEN THOUGH LIVING IN A WHEELCHAIR
The Message of the Rector Major, Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime, SDB
Encounters on Epiphany with amazing people who have good hearts and luminous faith