Vatican
City, 27 June 2013 (VIS) – On Friday morning the Pope went to the
park “Quinta da Boa Vista”, nineteen kilometres from the Sumare
residence. The park previously belonged to the Society of Jesus, and
is now a municipal park containing the Zoological Garden and National
Museum, the first scientific institution in the country and
considered to be the finest Museum of natural history and
anthropology in Latin America. Throughout the park numerous
confessionals have been installed to allow the sacrament of
confession to be imparted to the young participants in World Youth
Day. One was selected for the Pope to personally hear the confession
of five young people in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Afterwards,
he proceeded by car to the meet with the archbishop of Rio in his
residence, a building constructed in 1918 as the official residence
of the first cardinal archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Joaquim Arcoverde
Cavalcanti de Albuquerque. The work of the architect Morales de los
Rios, it is characterised by its eclectic style with architectural
references to many historical monuments. During the military
dictatorship, the then Cardinal Archbishop Eugenio Sales offered
asylum to the regime's opponents within the Palace.
At
11.30 a.m. the Pope met briefly with eight young detainees, six boys
and two girls, who gave the Pope a giant Rosary made of polystyrene.
The Cross bore the words “Calendaria nunca mais” - “Calendaria:
never again”, referring to the tragic event of 22 July 1993, when a
group of armed men assassinated a group of children and young men at
the door of the Church of the Calendaria in Rio de Janeiro. The names
of the many young people killed on that day were written on the beads
of the Rosary. The Pope prayed with the young people for all those
who have died in violent circumstances and repeated the message
“Violencia nunca mais! No more violence, only love!”
Immediately
afterwards, the Pope moved on to the Chapel to greet the Religious of
the Residence. From the central balcony of the Palace, the Pope
prayed the Angelus with the faithful gathered in the square below and
in the adjacent streets.
“I
would be happy if my visit to this city were to renew, in each one of
you, your love for Christ and his Church and your joy in being one
with him, belonging to the Church and being committed to offering a
living witness to the faith”, the Pope began.
He
went on to explain the three moments in which the simple prayer of
the Angelus prayer is recited, and emphasised that “it reminds us
of a luminous event which transformed history: the Incarnation, the
moment when the Son of God became man in Jesus of Nazareth”.
He
spoke about Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Virgin Mary,
and commented that Mary grew up in a home in which love for God was
transmitted, expressed in the warmth and love of family life. “How
precious is the family as the privileged place for transmitting the
faith!” he exclaimed, recalling that in many countries, as the
Church celebrates Saints Joachim and Anne, grandparents' day is also
celebrated. “How important grandparents are for family life, for
passing on the human and religious heritage which is so essential for
each and every society! How important it is to have intergenerational
exchanges and dialogue, especially within the context of the family”.
The
Pope mentioned that the Aparecida Document states that children and
the elderly build the future of peoples: “children because they
lead history forward, the elderly because they transmit the
experience and wisdom of their lives. This relationship and this
dialogue between generations is a treasure to be preserved and
strengthened!”.
After
the Angelus, the Pope proceeded to the Salon Redondo on the first
floor of the Palace to meet with Archbishop Tempesta and twelve young
people of different nationalities, representing each continent. After
lunch, the Holy Father returned to the Sumare residence to rest
before the beginning of the Via Crucis.
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