The pope met with artists who will perform at the Christmas concert at the Vatican. They will sing in Rome to raise funds for an educational project of Don Bosco Missions, in Uganda, and another one of Scholas Occurrentes, in Iraq.
CARD. GIUSEPPE VERSALDI
Prefect, Congregation for Catholic Education
'Through these projects we want to go beyond emergencies and start stable training paths, which guarantee a safer future for children and young people.'
The pope thanked them and recalled that Christmas is a time to 'be reborn in faith, open ourselves to hope and ignite charity again'.
POPE FRANCIS
'This year, Christmas invites us to reflect on the situation so many men, women and children of our time are facing. Migrants, refugees and displaced people are trying to escape from wars and misery caused by social injustice and climate change. They are leaving everything - home, family, country - and confronting the unknown. They have suffered very hard situations! '
The pope asked religious and civil institutions to coordinate in order to address these emergencies.
In the first row, artists such as José Feliciano, Anastacia, Álvaro Soler and Dee Dee Bridgewater listened attentively to the pope.
