Very few have the privilege of riding around in the popemobile, but it's the smallest present at the Audience who are normally chosen. Thus, each Wednesday, when Pope Francis arrives in St. Peter's Square each child is secretly hoping they are lucky enough to ride with him.
In his catechesis, the pope concluded his series on hope by remembering the figure of the good thief.
POPE FRANCIS
'It is the only time that the word 'paradise' appears in the Gospels. Jesus promises it to a 'poor devil' who on the wood of the cross had the courage to ask the humblest of requests.'
He simply asked Jesus to remember him. The pope explained that the good thief reminds every Christian that he is a son of God.
POPE FRANCIS
'The good thief reminds us of our true condition before God: we are His children and He comes to meet us, having compassion on us. There is no person, however bad he may have been in his life, to whom God denies His grace if he repents.'
Pope Francis concluded the catechesis with this phrase: paradise is not an enchanted garden, but an embrace with God.
