Pope Francis received this Saturday the young people of the Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto (Italy) who will receive the sacrament of Confirmation. He proposed the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis as an example, describing him as "a truly special type."
Around 7,200 youths attended the meeting with the Pope, to whom the Holy Father asked if they remembered the date of their Baptism because it is like a second birthday on which they were born into "Christian life, life in Jesus, which lasts forever and is an eternal life."
"We then entered the great family of the Church, and the Holy Spirit came to dwell in us and never leaves us; and finally, we received the greatest inheritance that exists: Paradise!" he added.
Pope Francis explained that with the sacrament of Confirmation, all this becomes "more solid, stronger."
"By whom? Firstly, by the Holy Spirit, who renews us with His gifts; then, by the Church, which entrusts us with the task of proclaiming Jesus and His Gospel; and, finally, by ourselves, as we accept this mission as a personal commitment, as protagonists and not as spectators," he added.
In this regard, the Pope continued, "I want to remind you of the example of a boy like you, a really special guy: his name was Carlo, maybe you have heard of him, Carlo Acutis." "Sadly, he died very young, in 2006, at only 15 years old, but in his life, he did many beautiful things in a few years. Above all, he was passionate about Jesus; and as he was very good at surfing the Internet, he used it in the service of the Gospel, spreading love for prayer, the testimony of faith, and charity towards others," he explained.
The Holy Father highlighted that the blessed teenager lived prayer, testimony, and charity with quite a commitment, spending "a lot of time with Jesus, especially in Mass, which he attended every day, and prayed before the tabernacle to then announce to everyone, with words and gestures of love, that God loves us and always waits for us."
During the meeting, Pope Francis encouraged the young people who will receive Confirmation to be "a testimony of how beautiful it is to be with Jesus and how much He loves us." "I bless you from my heart," concluded the Pontiff.
Walter Sanchez Silva is a senior writer for ACI Prensa. He has experience in researching and covering international ecclesiastical events such as World Youth Days (WYD) in Cologne 2005, Madrid 2011, and Rio 2013; the Fifth General Conference of the Latin American Episcopal Council in Aparecida; as well as the trips of Pope Benedict XVI in May 2007 to Brazil and in 2012 to Mexico. He covered Pope Francis' trip to South Korea in 2014 and the Synods of Bishops in the Vatican in 2015 (on the family) and 2019 (on the Amazon). He was also sent to cover the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and served as a field producer in Buenos Aires in 2013 for the documentary "Pope Francis: The Pope of the New World".
