MESSAGE FOR 38TH WORLD YOUTH DAY: REJOICING IN HOPE
The XXXVIII World Youth Day in the particular Churches will be celebrated on November 26th, Solemnity of Christ the King.
The Holy Father’s Message, released today, marks the beginning of a two-year cycle of messages on the theme of hope that will prepare young people for the Jubilee of 2025 whose theme is “Pilgrims of Hope.”
Today’s message focusses on St. Paul’s words to the Romans, “Rejoicing in hope” (cf. Rom 12:12).
The message was signed on November 9, Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica where young Romans will celebrate the diocesan WYD together. Likewise, young people around the world are invited to gather around their pastors in their particular Churches. St. John Lateran is the cathedral church of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. (Vatican media)
In his message, Pope Francis reminds young people that they are “the joyful hope of a Church and of a humanity always on the move.” He suggests meditating together on joy and hope, which flow from the Paschal mystery, and he reminds youth that this hope “is no facile optimism, no placebo for the credulous: it is the certainty, rooted in love and faith, that God never abandons us.”
Pope Francis also refers to the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit, whose five-year anniversary of publication will be celebrated in 2024. He emphasizes that that document opens precisely with the proclamation of Christian hope: “Christ is alive! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world!” (Christus Vivit, 1).
The Holy Father’s invitation is for young people and all youth ministry workers to “reread the Final Document of 2018 and the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit.” “The time,” he says, “is ripe to take stock of the situation and to work together with hope for the full implementation of that unforgettable
Synod.” (Source: Vatican news)
Joan's Rome 