Pope Francis broke away from his planned speech to ask the thousands of young people gathered at the Vatican to pray for the children who are victims of war.
POPE FRANCIS
Think of the Ukrainian children, who have forgotten to smile.
Think of the children in Gaza machine gunned and who are hungry. Think of the children. And now a small silence and each of us think of the Ukrainian children and the children of Gaza.
Minutes before, the Pope had encouraged the participants to approach life with courage and open-mindedness and to avoid getting carried away by a comfortable but superficial life.
POPE FRANCIS
You are called - listen well, okay?
You are called to be protagonists and not spectators of the future. And I ask you: to what are you called?
To be what?
Protagonists.
I did not hear you well.
Protagonists!
Courage, onward.
At the end of the encounter, the Pope took time greeting those present in his wheelchair as they presented him with gifts.
This is an initiative of the Community of Sant'Egidio that promotes the teaching of human rights in the classroom.
JRB
TR: KG
