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. Read the text of his remarks below:
"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:
[…]"
Following the Angelus, the Holy Father offered special greetings to pilgrims
in various languages:
[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 next 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. "