Pope asked young people to be "influencers" and called on the world to take root

The thousands of young people who came to the Saturday prayer vigil dad Francisco they communicated with their message that they were like the Virgin Mary, "the influence" of God ", and they heard the harsh criticisms of the Supreme Pontiff in a world" that does not give roots or foundations "to the new generations.

On the esplanade of Metro Park of Panama, call John Paul II because the Polish pontiff celebrated a deed in 1983, the pope used his usual juvenile language to explain that the life of salvation that Jesus gives is not "a hello suspended in the cloud" that waits for be unloaded ", nor a new" application "or mental exercise fruit of self-improvement techniques.

He used the example of Maria, who "was a girl from Nazareth, did not appear on the social networks of the time and was not an" influencer ", but unwittingly and neither looking for her, she became the woman who most influenced the story. "

"Maria," the influence "of God", defined the Pope in a new glance to the world of young people today, adding that she had the strength to know how to say "yes".

From the beginning, pilgrims from 150 countries and people of all ages began to arrive and focused on the vigil in an open space on the eastern outskirts of the capital, intended to be a modern commercial and corporate complex. The organizers estimated that 600,000 people were present at the scene..

They arrived ready to camp sheltered from the long night that awaits them until the Mbad WYD to be held on Sunday mornings, with light meals, water, sunscreen, anti-mosquito products, area rugs, blankets, sleeping bags and tents.

The atmosphere that was lived there was exhilarating among the pilgrims and very colorful, with a profusion of various types of hats, visors and flags from their respective countries exchanged between them.

Before the vigil and the intense heat that had persecuted them throughout the WYD, the installation of taps had been improvised to allow them to temper a little embarrbadment, without extinguishing their enthusiasm to accompany the Pope in this moment of reflection "intimate", as some have defined.

Francisco enters the field Saint John Paul II in the mobile bridge, across the center, the clearing towards the main platform at the scheduled time to preside over the prayer vigil.

"It's the pope's youth!" This is the exclamation with which the Holy Father was received by young people when he arrived at the impressive altar designed for the religious office, which included the presentation. Panamanian tenor. Ricardo Velázquez, who sang his composition "Listen to your heart".

The staging of a ballet, the testimony of a marriage with a disabled girl, a young man with a drug addict past and a Palestinian girl, as well as the performance of Argentine singer-songwriter Axel with his melody "Celebrating life" preceded the pope's message and the prayer "adoration of the most holy" and meditations on the mysteries of the rosary.

The testimony of the marriage was used by Francisco to affirm that the action of "embracing life" is also manifested when we welcome all that is not perfect: the handicapped, the migrant, the prisoner.

The pontiff also criticized a world "that does not give roots or foundations to young people".

For Francis, the fact that many young people do not believe in God is "because many of them feel that, little by little, they have ceased to exist for others, they often feel invisible ".

Some of the young pilgrims gathered at the vigil shared the Pope's message, which they believe is based on loving everyone without exclusions.

"It seems incredible to me that the pope of the highest hierarchies of the church basically encourages us to love everyone." This is what Augustine said: "love and do what you want", said Ricardo Abad in Efe, Valencia, Spain.

Abad said that the possibility of being in a Eucharist like this Saturday, consecrated by the Sovereign Pontiff "is a unique opportunity to achieve the universality of the church".

Luis Alarcón De La Lastra, of Córdoba, Spain, told Efe that he was always struck by the Pope's way of evangelizing "always with love, which is at the root of everything".

The young Costa Rican Juan Rafael Vargas underlined the fact that "the pope invites us to do it, to open us all, to welcome everyone and to show empathy towards everyone".