Night was falling in Lisbon as Pope Francis passed through the more than one million people waiting for him at Tejo Park for the WYD Vigil. And there was a lot of joy and excitement in the square.
It is tradition that at each WYD the Pope listens to the testimonies from young people. One of them was that of Marta, an 18-year-old girl from Mozambique, who had to flee her home after her village was attacked by terrorists.
When we were in the forest, we prayed a lot. At no time did we lose our faith. I asked God to help us and to remove all evil from the world and that the people who were causing this war would change their lives.
After listening to the testimonies, Pope Francis addressed the crowds of young people. He told them that the basis of any success is perseverance and he compared the path of life to soccer.
POPE FRANCIS
I don't know if anyone likes soccer. I like it. What's behind a goal? A lot of training. Behind success, what is there? A lot of training. And in life, you can't always do what you want to do, but what you have a vocation for. Everyone has their own vocation; it leads us to act.
The Pope explained that the difficulties of life are like the falls one can suffer while climbing a mountain. He spoke to them about the Alpine people and one of their songs.
POPE FRANCIS
There is a very nice thing that I would like you to take with you today as a souvenir. The Alpines, who like to climb mountains, have a very nice little song that goes like this: 'In the art of climbing, the important thing is not to not fall, but not to stay down. In the art of climbing, what matters is not not falling, but not staying down.
Pope Francis urged everyone to always help lift a friend if they see that they have fallen.
POPE FRANCIS
Notice when you have to lift or help lift a person, what gesture do you make? You look down at them from above. The only opportunity, the only moment in which it is okay to look down at a person is to help them get up.
After the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the hundreds of thousands of young people slept outside in the square, waiting for Sunday Mass, which will bring World Youth Day in Lisbon to a close.
CA
TR: KG
