Pope Francis’ message for the 1st World Children’s Day, which will be celebrated on May 25th and 26th, in Rome, was published on March 2nd. In his message for the 1st World Children’s Day, the Holy Father addresses first of all, to each one personally: “to you, dear girl, to you, dear boy, because you are precious in the eyes of God, as he teaches us the Bible (cf. Is 43:4) and Jesus demonstrated this many times”.
“At the same time, the message is sent to everyone, because you are all important and, together – those near and far – you manifest the desire in each of us to grow and renew ourselves. You remind us that we are all children and brothers and no one can exist without a person who brings him into the world, nor grow without having others to give love and from whom to receive love” (cf. Francis, Letter enc. Fratelli tutti, 95), says the Pontiff.
In the text, the Pope asks children not to forget to be happy and states that the true secret to happiness is prayer.
“Now I want to entrust you with an important secret: to be truly happy, we need to pray, pray a lot, every day, because prayer connects us directly to God, fills our hearts with light and warmth and helps us to do everything with confidence and serenity. Jesus also always prayed to the Father. Do you know what he called Him? In his language, he simply called Him Abba, which means Papa (cf. Mc 14, 36). Let us do it too! We will always feel Him close to us,” he says. Read the message in full HERE
Event presentation
Also at the beginning of this month, the event was presented. Held for the first time, World Children’s Day takes place on May 25th and 26th, in Rome. According to the event’s Coordinator, Father Enzo Fortunato, as of March 2, more than 57 thousand entries had been received. The expectation is for 100,000 attendances, and so far children from 60 countries will participate, such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Syria.
An open event
World Children’s Day, explains Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Community of Sant’Egidio, who, together with the cooperative Auxilium, helped organize the Day with the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See, “will be an open and not closed” and not just Christian children, but children of other religions will be present. “All children must be included, especially the most vulnerable and victims of war”, reiterates Impagliazzo. The objective, in fact, “is to give hope to this world”.
The JMC program
World Children’s Day will begin on Saturday, May 25, at the Olympic Stadium, from 3pm to 6pm (local time). In the first two hours, there will be many testimonies and artists from all over the world. There will be priests from Buenos Aires and Ibrahima Balde, the young migrant who is the author of the book “Little Brother”, frequently mentioned by the Pope. Among the Italian artists, confirmed deputy coordinator Aldo Cagnoli, will be actor Lino Banfi, presenter Carlo Conti and singers Gianni Morandi and Mr Rain.
On Sunday, May 26, the meeting will be in Saint Peter’s Square, where, at 10:30 am (local time) Pope Francis will preside over Holy Mass.
Read the message in full HERE
Text: With information from Vatican News
Photo: Vatican Media