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Before concluding this celebration I would like to entrust the confirmandi and all of you to Our Lady. The Virgin Mary teaches us what it means to live in the Holy Spirit and what it means to welcome the newness of God in our life. She conceived Jesus by the work of the Spirit, and every Christian, each one of us, is called to welcome the Word of God, to welcome Jesus in ourselves and then bring him to everyone. Mary invoked the Spirit with the Apostles in the upper room: every time that we come together in prayer, we are supported by the spiritual presence of the Mother of Jesus, to receive the gift of the Spirit and to have the ability to bear witness to the risen Jesus. I say this in a special way to you who have received Confirmation today: may Mary help you to be attentive to that which the Lord asks of you, and always to live and to walk according to the Holy Spirit!

I would like to extend my affectionate greeting to all of the pilgrims who have come from many countries. In particular I greet the young people who are preparing for Confirmation, the large group led by the Sisters of Charity, the parish groups from Poland and Bisignano, as well as the Katholische akademische Verbindung Capitolina.

At this time I, a special time, I would like to offer a prayer for the numerous victims of the tragic collapse of a factory in Bangladesh. I express my solidarity and profound closeness to the families who weep for their loved ones and from the depths of my heart I sincerely call for the protection of the dignity and security of the worker.

Now in the Easter light, fruit of the Spirit, we turn together to the Mother of the Lord.

[Translation by Joseph Trabbic]