These six children have just had the trip of a lifetime. When the pope arrived in St. Peter's Square, he asked them to accompany him to greet the pilgrims. They certainly had a great time.
Then, during the weekly catechesis, the pope proposed that Christians remember their initial encounters with Jesus during difficult or trying moments. He also said that Jesus did not tire of asking people a deep question.
POPE FRANCIS
'I too would like to ask the young people that are here in the square, and to those who are listening via media outlets: 'You who are young, what are you looking for? What are you searching for in your heart?''
The pope explained that God does not want people to follow him sad and unwillingly, but instead wants those men and women who transmit the spark of their first encounter with Jesus in their eyes.
POPE FRANCIS
'Many of us see Christians who with their eyes alone transmit the joy of faith. I ask you, for each person to respond to himself: do you carry the wind of joy in your heart? Everyone respond in his heart. Do I carry within me, in my heart, the wind of joy?'
The pope recalled that this week both Catholics and Orthodox will celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. He announced that to commemorate it, he will publish a written message with ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
POPE FRANCIS
'We ask those who hold influential positions to listen to the cry of the land and the cry of the poor, who suffer the most ecological imbalances.'
Among those in the audience were players from Chapecoense, the Brazilian soccer team that lost much of its squad in a plane crash in 2016.
