VENICE (CNS): Visiting a lagoon of tiny islands, canals and narrow walkways for one day, Pope Francis moved around Venice by boat, bridge and electric golf cart on April 28.
The pope’s early morning touchdown by helicopter from Rome brought him first to a women’s prison, then by wooden motorboat to the Basilica of St. Mary of Health, a 17th-century church built to honor Mary, invoking her protection and intercession to end a devastating plague that killed nearly one-third of the population in the 1630s.
About 1,500 young people were in front of the basilica singing and cheering to greet the pope as he arrived waving from the boat decorated with a small Vatican flag.
“We are here today to rediscover in the Lord the beauty that we are and to rejoice in the name of Jesus, a youthful God who loves young people and always surprises us,” Vatican News reported him as telling them.
“Arise and go!” he exhorted them. “Open your heart to God, thank him and embrace the beauty that you are; fall in love with your life.”
“Walk together with others, colour the world with your creativity and paint the streets of life with the gospel,” he said.
Young people must resist inertia and discouragement, he said, “because we are made for Heaven.” Tell God, “Here I am!” and recognise and welcome the gift of being made “precious and irreplaceable.”
Pope Francis emphasised that no one is ugly, and everyone carries a priceless treasure inside that is meant to be shared with others. “This is not self-esteem, it is reality! Recognising this is the first step we should take in the morning when we wake up: get out of bed and accept yourself as a gift.”
Walk together with others, colour the world with your creativity and paint the streets of life with the gospel
The pope said, “Remember that for God, you are not a digital profile” but “a child of heaven.”
He exhorted the young people, saying, that rather than living on quick emotions and momentary satisfaction, Christians are called to persevere together in faith and love by praying in community at Mass, Vatican News reported.
“You might say, ‘But all around me, everyone is on their own with their cellphone, glued to social media and video games. Yet, you must fearlessly go against the current: take life into your hands, get involved; turn off the TV and open the gospel; get off your cellphone and encounter people!”
Like the gondolas that ply the canals of Venice, young people should row against the current by letting God help them the pope said. “Rowing requires regularity, but perseverance brings rewards, even if the path is difficult.”
He said that just like Venice, people are beautiful and fragile at the same time. Take care of these and recognise that God always extends a hand, not to blame or punish, but to heal and lift people back up.
Never get isolated, even when one’s friends are stuck at home behind screens and video games, he told the young people. This is not easy, he acknowledged, but take advice from Venetian wisdom that says one can only go far by consistently and steadily rowing.
Accompanied by a delegation of young people, Pope Francis then went by electric golf cart to St. Mark’s Square by crossing a “bridge of boats,” a floating pontoon bridge that is a traditional Venetian way of temporarily connecting opposite shores.
More than 10,000 people packed the huge square for Mass and to pray the Regina Coeli. In his homily, the pope said Jesus’ metaphor of being the grapevine while believers are the branches “expresses God’s loving care for us; it also warns us that if we sever this connection with the Lord, we cannot produce fruits of good life and risk becoming dry branches, which will be cast aside.”
As we gaze upon this city of Venice today, we admire its enchanting beauty. Yet, we are also concerned about the many issues that threaten it: climate change, which impacts the waters of the lagoon and the land
He said, “This is what matters: to remain in the Lord, to dwell in him,” which does not mean standing still or being passive. “Indeed, it invites us to move, because to remain in the Lord means to grow in relationship with him.”
Touching on matters of the environment, Pope Francis remarked, “As we gaze upon this city of Venice today, we admire its enchanting beauty. Yet, we are also concerned about the many issues that threaten it: climate change, which impacts the waters of the lagoon and the land.”
He highlighted the problems facing the city’s architecture, cultural heritage and people, noting “the difficulty of creating an environment that is fit for human beings through adequate tourism management.”
Christians, the pope said, must remain united to Christ so “we can bring the fruits of the gospel into the reality we inhabit: fruits of justice and peace, fruits of solidarity and mutual care; carefully-made choices to preserve our environmental and human heritage.”
He stressed, “We need our Christian communities, neighbourhoods and cities to become welcoming, inclusive and hospitable places.”
Later, the pope greeted the faithful in the square and went into St. Mark’s Basilica to venerate the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist. He also greeted local volunteers who assisted with the visit and then returned to Rome by helicopter.
