Pope Francis' first international trip was to World Youth Day in Brazil.
Hundreds of thousands of people flooded the beaches of Rio de Janeiro to be close to the first Latin American Pope in history. It was truly a celebration.
POPE FRANCIS
Jesus offers us the possibility of a fruitful life, of a happy life.
POPE FRANCIS
I want to make noise in the dioceses, I want it to go beyond.
In Brazil, the Pope traveled in a simpler car—introducing the new, more minimal approach he would carry with him in the Vatican.
Pope Francis also answered all the questions from the press, without skipping a single one.
Then came World Youth Day in Poland, where moments of silence, such as the visit to the Auschwitz concentration camp, were integrated...amidst moments of pure celebration among the thousands of young people who filled the streets of Krakow.
POPE FRANCIS
Do you want to fight for your future? [Yes!] I don't see you very convinced... Do you want to fight for your future?
Dear young people, we did not come into this world to 'vegetate,' to pass through it comfortably, to make life a sofa that lulls us to sleep.
These were the years of the rise of ISIS and terrorist attacks in Europe. That is why Pope Francis wanted to send this message from Poland to the whole world.
POPE FRANCIS
We do not want to overcome hatred with more hatred or overcome violence with more violence.
Six years later, Pope Francis would cross the ocean once again to participate in yet another World Youth Day. In 2019, he went to Panama, where Latin America welcomed him with open arms.
This was the last World Youth Day before the pandemic forced the delay of the one in Lisbon.
JRB
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