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“Become seekers of peace, commit yourself
to the less fortunate who have no voice in this world, protest against injustice and discord, be peacemakers”.
This is the “missionary mandate” that Pope
Francis entrusted to 70,000 altar servers gathered in Saint Peter”s Square on
Tuesday afternoon, 31 July, for their 12th international pilgrimage.
“I send you on mission”, he said at the end of the celebration of vespers which
concluded the long afternoon of celebration and prayer: over three and a half
hours of song, dances and witnessing which culminated in the meeting with the
Pope.
Braving the heat, the young people arrived
to Rome from 19 countries to participate in the gathering promoted by the Coetus
Internationalis Ministrantium (CIM). Some were already on the streets surrounding Bernini”s colonnade from the early hours of the morning, with their distinctive colourful backpacks, flags and scarves. At 4:30 pm, as the square was beginning to fill up, a young German girl and a young Hungarian boy led
preparations for the audience.
Greetings, interviews and prayer were
intertwined with hymns from the Peace Seeker group, made up of musicians from Germany and Austria and a chorus of young people from various countries. The Holy Father arrived at around 5:50 pm. He rode on his uncovered white jeep along Saint Peter”s Square and part of Via della Conciliazione before reaching
his spot on the parvis.
