Michael August - September 2013

For his first official journey outside Italy, Pope

Francis went to Brazil, July 22-28, 2013, for the 28th

World Youth Day (WYD) in Rio de Janeiro. It was an

immense success, with over 3 million people from

178 countries attending the closing Mass on Copa-

cabana beach, Sunday, July 28. (Only the World

Youth Day in Manila, Philippines, in 1995, saw a lar-

ger crowd: 4 million people.)

Three million people crowded Copacabana beach

in Rio de Janeiro on July 28, 2013 as Pope Francis

celebrated the final mass of his visit to Brazil.

It is John Paul II who was inspired to launch

these days (now two weeks) dedicated to the young

people, which allow them to see that they are not

alone believing in Jesus, and that even if there

might be just a few believers in their area, they are

millions throughout the world.

The theme of the WYD for this year was: “Go and

make disciples of all nations” (cf. Mathew 28:19.) It

was Benedict XVI who had chosen this theme, and

he had also chosen the city of Rio to hold this WYD,

but Divine Providence arranged that it was Francis,

the first Pope from Latin America, who went. The

same “wink” from Providence took place for the first

apostolic journey of Benedict XVI: it was John Paul

II who had announced (in Toronto, Canada, in 2002),

that the next WYD would be held in Cologne Ger-

many, and it was a German Pope, Benedict XVI, who

attended it.

Here are large excerpts from the many speech-

es of Pope Francis at the WYD of Rio, which electri-

fied not only the youth of the whole world:

Welcome ceremony, July 22

Pope Francis at the welcome ceremony

I have learned that, to gain access to the Brazil-

ian people, it is necessary to pass through its great

heart; so let me knock gently at this door. I ask per-

mission to come in and spend this week with you.

I have neither silver nor gold, but I bring with me

the most precious thing given to me: Jesus Christ !

I have come in His name, to feed the flame of fra-

ternal love that burns in every heart; and I wish my

greeting to reach one and all: The peace of Christ be

with you ! ...

Young people are the window through which

the future enters the world. They are the window,

and so they present us with great challenges. Our

generation will show that it can rise to the promise

found in each young person when we know how to

give them space. This means that we have to cre-

ate the material and spiritual conditions for their full

development; to give them a solid basis on which to

build their lives; to guarantee their safety and their

education to be everything they can be; to pass on

to them lasting values that make life worth living;

to give them a transcendent horizon for their thirst

for authentic happiness and their creativity for the

good; to give them the legacy of a world worthy of

human life; and to awaken in them their greatest po-

tential as builders of their own destiny, sharing re-

sponsibility for the future of everyone.

Mass in the Basilica of the Shrine

of Our Lady of Aparecida, July 24

When the Church looks for Jesus, she always

knocks at his Mother’s door and asks: “Show us

Jesus”. It is from Mary that the Church learns true

discipleship. That is why the Church always goes

out on mission in the footsteps of Mary.

Today, looking forward to the World Youth Day

which has brought me to Brazil, I too come to knock

on the door of the house of Mary – who loved and

raised Jesus – that she may help all of us, pastors

of God’s people, parents and educators, to pass on

to our young people the values that can help them

build a nation and a world which are more just,

united and fraternal.

Visit to the favela (slum) of Varginha, July 25

I would like to make an appeal to those in pos-

session of greater resources, to public authorities

and to all people of good will who are working for

social justice: never tire of working for a more just

world, marked by greater solidarity ! No one can re-

main insensitive to the inequalities that persist in the

world! Everybody, according to his or her particular

opportunities and responsibilities, should be able to

make a personal contribution to putting an end to

Pope Francis at the World

Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro

“Go and make disciples of all nations”

The shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida

According to the official account of the Aparecida apparition, in October 1717, Dom

Pedro de Almeida, Count of Assumar and Governor of the Province of São Paulo and

Minas Gerais, was passing through the area of Guaratinguetá, a small city in the Paraíba

river valley, during a trip to Vila Rica, an important gold mining site.

As the people of Guaratinguetá decided to hold a feast in his honour, three fisher-

men, Domingos Garcia, João Alves, and Filipe Pedroso went down to the Paraíba wat-

ers to fish. The fishermen prayed to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception that God

would grant a good catch. The fishermen, having a run of bad luck, cast their nets in

the River Paraiba. João Alves cast his net and pulled it back to find a headless statue

of the Virgin Mary. Upon his next

cast, he found the head. The group

cleaned the statue, wrapped it in

cloth, and returned to their task to

find their fortunes had changed

and they were able to obtain all

the fish they needed.

The fishermen named the

statue

Nossa Senhora da

Aparecida Conceição

(in Eng-

lish: Our Lady of the Appeared

Conception). Neighbors began

to venerate the statue, which came

to be known as Our Lady of Aparecida,

and a cult grew. The first chapel was built

in 1745. The statue in clay is less than three

feet tall. The number of worshippers increased

dramatically and in 1834 work on a larger church was

begun, and finished in 1888. On June 16, 1930, Our Lady

of Aparecida, was proclaimed the “Queen and Principal

Patroness of Brazil” by Pope Pius XI.

The third Basilica of Our Lady of

Aparecida was consecrated on July 4, 1980

by Pope John Paul II. It is the second lar-

gest Basilica in the world, second only to St.

Peter’s in the Vatican City. It can accommo-

date 45,000 worshipers. In 2010, over 10

million people visited it, which makes it the

second most visited shrine after Lourdes.

MICHAEL August/September 2013