Pope Francis reflects on his WYD visit to Poland

During his General Audience with pilgrims in St Peter's Square yesterday, Pope Francis reflected on his visit to Krakow for World Youth Day - where he said the young continued to be "a prophetic sign of hope for the future."

While in Poland, Pope Francis went to Auschwitz, where more than a million Jewish people were murdered during World War Two.

The Holy Father said: "The great silence of the visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau was more eloquent than any word spoken could have been. In that silence I listened: I felt the presence of all the souls who passed through that place; I felt the compassion, the mercy of God, which a few holy souls were been able to bring even into that abyss. In that great silence, I prayed for all the victims of violence and war: and there, in that place, I realised more than ever how precious is memory; not only as a record of past events, but as a warning, and a responsibility for today and tomorrow, that the seed of hatred and violence not be allowed to take root in the furrows of history."

Departing from his prepared text, Pope Francis went on to recall the countless people - men and women, young and old - who still today suffer as a result of war. "Looking upon that cruelty, in that concentration camp," he said, "I thought immediately of the cruelties of today, which are similar: not as concentrated as in that place, but everywhere in the world; this world that is sick with cruelty, pain, war, hatred, sadness; and this is why I always ask you for the prayer: that the Lord give us peace."

Pope Francis' visit to Poland also coincided with the 25th anniversary of the historic visit of Pope Saint John Paul II following the fall of the Iron Curtain.

"Poland, Europe and the world have changed greatly since then, but the young continue to be a prophetic sign of hope for the future." Describing the scene of hundreds of thousands of young people from every corner of the globe waving the flags of their respective countries, Pope Francis said that the young people formed a mosaic of fraternity and a joyful response to the challenge of the Gospel. "Poland, with its rich cultural and spiritual heritage," he continued, "today reminds us that Europe has no future apart from its founding values, centred on the Christian vision of man and including the message of mercy expressed so eloquently in the last century by Saints John Paul and Faustina Kowalska."

During the Audience Pope Francis met with a group of 65 child refugees from Syria and Eritrea. The children are staying in the small town of Castelnuovo di Porto, located 25 kilometres north of Rome. They were wearing shirts saying "Grazie Papa Francesco" [Thank you, Pope Francis], and gave the Holy Father a large teddy bear. They also held up a sign saying "Our house is where peace resides."

During his final blessing Pope Francis invoked St John Vianney - the 'Curé d'Ars whose feast day is today, 4 August. "A special greeting to the young people; the sick and infirm; and newlyweds," Pope Francis said. "Tomorrow we celebrate the memorial of St John Vianney, patron of priests, and especially parish priests."

He then asked for the saint's intercession for their special intentions. "May his great humility be an example to you, dear young people, to live life as a gift of God; may his trusting abandonment to Christ the Saviour sustain you, dear people suffering illness, in the hour of suffering; and may his Christian witness give courage to you, dear newlyweds, to profess your faith without shame."

Visit ICN's Youth page for earlier reports on WYD in Krakow: www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?NewsSectionId=17