Sunday, August 21, 2011

Pope to Pilgrims as World Youth Fest Ends: Spread the faith!


Pope to pilgrims as youth fest ends: Spread the faith - USATODAY.com

The following excerpt is from USATODAY.com:

MADRID (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI urged more than a million young people to become missionaries for the faith Sunday, giving them words of encouragement as he concluded the church's youth festival and announced that the next edition will be in Rio de Janeiro in 2013.

Benedict told the crowd at a Madrid airfield hosting World Youth Day that they should not keep their faith private but participate fully in the life of their parishes and remain in communion with the church.

"So do not keep Christ to yourselves! Share with others the joy of your faith," he said.

This is Benedict's third World Youth Day, the gathering of young Catholics from around the world once every three years that was launched a quarter-century ago by Pope John Paul II in a bid to reinvigorate and spread the faith among the young. It has the feel of a weeklong rock concert and camping trip, with bands of flag-toting pilgrims roaming through Madrid's otherwise empty streets to take part in prayer and education sessions, Masses, cultural outings and papal events.

Read more: World Youth Day

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