At the end of the solemn liturgical celebration of Palm Sunday and of the Lord’s Passion, Pope Francis recited the Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims present in St. Peter’s Square, in the presence of 50 000 pilgrims and visitors, on April 9th, 2017.
Here is a ZENIT translation of the Pope’s words before the Marian prayer.
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Before the Angelus:
At the end of this celebration, I greet warmly all of you here present, especially all those who have taken part in the international meeting in view of the Synodal Assembly on Young People, promoted by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops. This greeting is extended to all the young people that are celebrating today, with their Bishops, the World Youth Day in all the dioceses of the world. It is another stage of the great pilgrimage, initiated by Saint John Paul II, which last year gathered us in Krakow and which convokes us at Panama in January 2019.
Therefore, in a few moments, Polish young people will hand the World Youth Day Cross to the Panamanian young people accompanied, respectively, by their Pastors and Civil Authorities.
Let us ask the Lord that, where the Cross will pass, united to the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani, it will make faith and hope grow, revealing the invincible love of Christ.
We entrust to Christ, who today enters in the Passion, and to the Holy Virgin the victims of the terrorist attack that happened last Friday in Stockholm, as well as all those who are still harshly tried by war, misfortune of humanity. And we pray for the victims of the attack carried out unfortunately today, this morning, in Cairo, in a Coptic church. I am close to my dear Brother, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, and to the Coptic Church and to all the dear Egyptian nation I express my profound condolence; I pray for the deceased and the wounded, I am close to the families and to the whole community. May the Lord convert the heart of all those persons that sow terror, violence and death, and also the heart of those that produce and traffic arms.
[Original text: Italian] [Translation by Virginia M. Forrester]
