WYD Rio: 1 million youth celebrate Pope Francis on Copacobana beach
July 26, 2013: Pope Francis joined hundreds of thousands of young people for a lively
song and prayer fest on Rio de Janeiro’s famous Copacobana beach on Thursday. It was
his first official encounter with young people as part of World Youth Day celebrations
in Brazil. Our correspondent, Sean Patrick Lovett, is in Rio with Pope Francis:
It would have been easy (and, I admit, it was tempting) to draw comparisons
between the sea of young people and the ocean of water beside which they were gathered,
to compare the roar of the waves with the waving, roaring crowd – and to make the
inevitable links with biblical symbols involving water, seas…and fishermen.
It
would have been enlightening (if you like that sort of thing) to concentrate on the
numbers, which were certainly impressive: 175 countries, 1,000 Bishops, 300 performers
and, most important of all, over a million people…not all of them young.
It
would have been entertaining (but unnecessary) to search for superlatives with which
to describe Pope Francis’ first encounter with young people from every corner of the
globe during the so-called welcoming celebration that effectively marks the first
of main World Youth Day events…and his own first WYD.
It would have been excessive
(and repetitive) to complain about the rain, yet again… and to describe how the weather
blew out the communications links for several interminable minutes. It would have
been instructive (and important) to comment on each of the improvised additions Pope
Francis made to his prepared discourse: “Young people are stronger than the rain”,
he said…”Benedict is watching you, he accompanies us with his prayers”, he confided…”Faith
revolutionizes our lives”, he stressed…
Doubtless, all this would have guaranteed
a much more interesting correspondent’s report – but it wouldn’t have communicated
any of the beauty and the poetry of the occasion, the sounds and the colours, the
songs and the choreographies, the expressions of Pope Francis as he drove through
the throng exchanging gestures, emotions, and even his zucchetto. Unfortunately, there
are limitations to being a correspondent and to writing reports. I hope you understand.