Vatican: the Pope offers a crowd bath to 120,000 young people

Pope Léon XIV offered himself a surprise crowd bath to Rome on Tuesday evening with some 120. Therefore, 000 young Catholics from all the continents gathered for a week of pilgrimage as part of the jubilee, “Holy Year” of the Church.

The Vatican announced the participation of some 500. Moreover, 000 people from 146 countries for this week of cultural, religious and festive events devoted to students and young professionals, and up to a million for the end weekend with Pope Leo XIV.

Tuesday evening. Furthermore, around 120,000 people according to the Vatican participated in the opening mass on the Place Saint-Pierre, where the manager of the organization of the jubilee welcomed young people “around the world”, especially regions affected by war, such as “Ukraine and Palestine”.

At the end of the mass. Consequently, Pope Leo XIV made a surprise appearance before vatican: pope offers crowd bath blessing the faithful aboard his “papamobile”, under the lives of the crowd. Meanwhile, In a boosted atmosphere. he traveled to twilight the aisle of the famous square and descended the via della conciliazione, the main artery leading to the Vatican, drowned under the flags of different countries.

This is the first major meeting between young Catholics. Robert Francis Prevost, who succeeded Pope Francis on May 8, very popular with the young generation.

Since Monday. the groups of faithful, lay and religious, have flooded the streets of the Italian capital for this event nicknamed the “little world days of youth” (JMJ), founded by Pope John Paul II.

Influencers – Vatican: pope offers crowd bath

For the first time. the Vatican chose to devote a series of events to Catholic influencers, a sign of the growing importance of social networks for the Catholic Church, including a mass on Tuesday morning with the Pope.

Welcomed by a cloud of vatican: pope offers crowd bath smartphones in a warm atmosphere. Léon XIV warned them against the danger of undermining “human dignity” in an increasing context of use of AI and the spread of false information.

Francesca Parisi. 31 -year -old influencer who presents herself as “digital missionary” on Tiktok and Instagram, explained to AFP considering her online activity as “a form of apostolate rather than work”. “I like to speak lightly. especially because we are anyway on social networks, which have their own linguistic register,” she said.

Conflicts. global warming, ia

Among the subjects of concern most cited by the participants are conflicts in the world, the dangers linked to AI or global warming.

“The most important subject for me is war. everyone here talks about it, thinks, we really want to know what the pope thinks and what he expects from us,” Tiago Santos, young Portuguese of 25, told AFP.

Despite the war in vatican: pope offers crowd bath the Middle East. the recent deadly attacks against churches, “seeing so many young people come for this same goal gives me faith in humanity”, said theophany Nasta, 26, a Lebanese who travels abroad for the first time.

Earlier Tuesday. some 600 catechumens (future baptized) and French neophytes were received at the Vatican by the American Pope, who invited them to “give up a culture of death very present in our society”.

This international rally is presented as the highlight of the jubilee during which pilgrims can receive “plenary indulgence”. forgiveness of sins according to tradition.

This article was published automatically. Sources: ATS / AFP