For Pope Francis, young people are “the fertile and new ground that God gives to Christian communities.”
The Holy Father sent a Message to the participants in the 20th Latin American Youth Ministry Meeting, underway in Lima, Peru, in the John Paul II House of Coexistence, from November 18-23, 2019, dedicated to the theme ”We Young People Are Sacred Ground, God’s Now.”
Accompany Youth
In his message, sent to Monsignor Alfredo Vizcarra Mora, Apostolic Vicar of Jaen and President of the Episcopal Commission for the Laity and Youth, the Holy Father talks about work to those responsible for youth pastoral ministry, describing it as a service “that cannot be neglected.”
Young people “make us aware of the lights and shadows of our community and, with their enthusiasm, they encourage us to give answers in keeping with our time,” he adds.
So the Pontiff reminds those in charge of this ministry, that they have been entrusted with the task of accompanying youth “with respect and meekness in the journey of their personal maturation, so that they grow in the faith and, with the Lord’s grace, bear fruits of love and hope.”
“God’s Now”
Moreover, the Bishop of Rome says that in America, “Continent of Hope,” as in the whole world, “young people are God’s now,” because His Son Jesus, “who is the manifestation of His goodness, walks and stays with them and, through Jesus, the Father continues to speak to us in the language of His love.”
Finally, the Holy Father invites to further reflection “on the person of Jesus so that, living in the intimacy of His Heart, they may be transformed into missionary disciples and witnesses of His tenderness, and other young people be able to approach Him, the eternally young, experience the joy of His friendship and lead a life founded on Christian fraternity and solidarity.”
