At the end of the March 25, 2018, Celebration of Palm Sunday and of the Passion of the Lord, and before the Apostolic Blessing, the Holy Father Francis led the recitation of the Angelus, with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
Here is a ZENIT translation of the Holy Father’s words on introducing the Marian prayer
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Before the Angelus:
[Before the Angelus the Holy Father greeted the representatives of young people that took part in the Pre-Synodal Meeting, who asked to have a group “selfie” with him]
Have you noticed: today one can’t conceive of a youth who doesn’t take a “selfie” . . . and they did so. They were good!
Before concluding this celebration, I wish to greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims, who took part, especially the young people from different parts of the world, also those — about 15,000 — that took part linked virtually: I greet all! Thinking with gratitude of my recent trip to Peru, I greet affectionately the Peruvian community in Italy.
Today’s World Youth Day, which is being held at the diocesan level, is an important stage in the journey towards the Synod of Bishops on Young People the Faith and Discernment of the forthcoming month of October, as well as in the course of preparation for the International Day, which will be held in Panama in January 2019. May the example and the intercession of Mary, the young woman of Nazareth, whom God chose as Mother of His Son, accompany us on this itinerary. She walks with us and guides the new generations in their pilgrimage of faith and of fraternity.
May Mary help us all to live Holy Week well. From her, we learn interior silence, the look of the heart, loving faith to follow Jesus on the Way of the Cross, which leads to the joyful light of the Resurrection.
And before reciting the Angelus, I want to truly thank Cardinal Baldisseri, Monsignor Fabene and the whole Synod’s Secretariat and all the collaborators that helped so much in this week – thank you so much!
Angelus Domini . . .
© Libreria Editrice Vatican
[Original text: Italian] [ZENIT’s translation by Virginia M. Forrester]
