VATICAN CITY, SEP 4, 2004 (VIS) - More than 15,000 young people participated this evening in a gathering of prayer and celebration in Loreto, Italy in which Italian artists sang and young people from Sudan, Iraq, Spain and Sarajevo gave testimony.
The celebration and pilgrimage, promoted by Italian Catholic Action, began on September 1 and will end tomorrow with Mass during which the Pope will beatify three members of Catholic Action: Alberto Marvelli, Pina Suriano and Fr. Pedro Tarres i Claret.
The program also included a recorded greeting from the Pope to a group of young people who presented "The Letter of the Christian Youth of Europe" to him two days ago in Castelgandolfo, an idea born during the August 5 to 8 European youth pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain on the occasion of the Holy Year of St. James.
"Be witnesses of Christ in order to build a Europe of hope. This is the message that you want to present to your peers and to the entire European community of today. The dream that you carry in your heart is that of a Europe which is proud of its rich cultural and religious heritage and attentive at the same time to the values of humanity and life, solidarity and acceptance, justice and peace."
"You are not embarrassed of the Gospel," continues the Holy Father, "and you are conscious that the civilization of love is not built by separating the Gospel and culture, but by looking for an ever-new synthesis between the two."
"In order to carry out your mission," he concludes, "fidelity to Christ and to His Church, coherence and courage to the point of the heroism of sanctity is necessary. It is the path that the saints of Europe took in centuries past. May their witness be a stimulus for each one of you, beloved young people who are following me by radio and television."
The evening ended with a silent pilgrimage to the Holy House of Loreto.
MESS/YOUTH GATHERING/LORETO VIS 20040906 (340)
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