SW News: On the flight back to Rome from his Apostolic Journey to Portugal for World Youth Day 2023, Pope Francis spoke to journalists on a range of issues including his health, silent prayer for peace at Fatima, and his assertion that the Church is open to everyone, even those who are unable to receive certain sacraments.
The Holy Father also discussed his thoughts on World Youth Day (WYD), which he attended for the fourth time as the Pope. He called the turnout in Lisbon impressive citing estimates that as many as 1.4 million people attended the vigil on Saturday night.
“The first one was in Rio de Janeiro which was monumental, Brazilian-style, beautiful! The second was in Krakow, the third in Panama; this is the fourth. There were more than a million people. The number is impressive. Of the ones I have seen, this is the best prepared,” he said.
The Pope also offered the journalists a short message of thanks for WYD coverage and greeted journalist Rita Cruz on her birthday.
When asked about the great expectation from him that he would publicly pray for peace at Fatima, he said, “…And this time I appealed to Our Lady and I prayed. I did not advertise.”
“WYD was a mystical experience, an engagement that was really beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. That's what I wanted to say about Youth Day,” the Holy Father said on the recently concluded World Youth Day.
About young people not living life in accordance with morality, he said, “Who among us has not made a moral mistake in our lives? Everyone has! With the commandments or with someone, each of us has our own downfalls in our own history. Life is like that. But the Lord is always waiting for us because He is a merciful Father, and mercy goes beyond everything.”