On the eve of the arrival of Pope Francis, tens of thousands of young believers began to gather on Tuesday August 1 in Lisbon for the opening mass of World Youth Day (WYD), the biggest event you catholic international.
Barely two months after an abdominal operation followed by ten days of hospitalization, the 86-year-old pontiff is expected Wednesday morning in the Portuguese capital, for his 42nd trip abroad since his election in 2013 Around a million worshipers could attend the final mass he will say on Sunday at the site of a former landfill on the edge of the Tagus estuary.
The kick-off of this week of cultural and spiritual meetings will be given at 7 p.m. local time (8 p.m. in Paris) with a mass in a park in the city center, presided over by the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon and highest prelate of the Portuguese Church, Manuel Clemente, which could bring together some 300,000 people according to local authorities.
“Closer to Heaven”
Around the hill where the first ceremony of these WYDs will be held, postponed for a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, several streets were cordoned off to allow young Catholics to access on foot.
In the morning, nearly 40,000 jubilant French-speaking pilgrims had gathered at the gates of the city. Wrapped in blue, white, red flags, or their faces made up in the colors of France, they sang in chorus while waving flags. “It’s going to be amazing, all this Christian youth coming together. I came to show that we Christians are not alone,” said Gabriel Forestier, a 28-year-old engineer from Amiens in northern France.
Mobilizing 16,000 members of the police and emergency services, the World Youth Days represent “the largest international event” ever organized in Portugal, ahead of the 2004 Football Euros or the 1998 Universal Exhibition, said the Prime Minister, Antonio Costa.
While the Catholic Church is in full reflection on its future in the face of the challenge of secularization, Pope Francis, very popular with young people, should address themes that are dear to them, such as ecology or social justice.
Upon his arrival in Portugal on Wednesday, the sovereign pontiff will speak to the authorities and the clergy. On Thursday and Friday, he will meet young people from different groups as well as volunteers, and on Saturday morning he will make a whirlwind visit to the sanctuary city of Fatima (Centre), where he had already visited in 2017.
Shocking report on sexual violence
The Vatican has not officially confirmed it but, according to the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, the pope is also to meet privately with victims of clergy sexual assaults on minors, six months after the publication of a shocking report by independent experts. According to the survey carried out at the request of the Catholic hierarchy, at least 4,815 minors have been victims of sexual violence within the Portuguese Church since 1950.
No details of the meeting with the victims have been released. “I know it will take place and it will be disclosed, but I myself don’t know where it will be or with how many people,” Cardinal Patriarch Manuel Clemente said. “On the part of the Portuguese Church, there is total commitment to settle this issue,” he stressed.