AN ECHO OF WORLD YOUTH DAY LINGERS ON IN PUBLIC OPINION

VATICAN CITY, AUG 27, 2000 (VIS) - "The echo of World Youth Day has not yet been extinguished in public opinion" said the Pope at midday today, prior to reciting the angelus at his summer residence of Castelgandolfo.

"Over a number of days, the hearts of young people were pulsating in Rome" said the Holy Father, "they inspired great affection for themselves. Joyous, peaceful young people, with ready greetings and smiles, respectful of the city and of nature, enamored of Jesus Christ and of His message. They are a people who are entering the third millennium with a new energy."

John Paul II gave thanks to God "for the good that the Jubilee of Youth has sown in the Church and the world. Everyone was deeply impressed by the huge turnout. Nonetheless, World Youth Day is only a staging post on a journey that must continue. The young people, on returning to their countries, are called to render more profound their choice of the Gospel and the coherence of their own lives."

To the Blessed Virgin, Mother of the Church, the Pope entrusted the fruits of World Youth Day "and the development of the upcoming Jubilee of Universities" which will be held in Rome from September 3 to 10.

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