By this gesture, the Pope became the first pilgrim to sign up for World Youth Day in Krakow in 2016.
POPE FRANCIS
'Done. I've signed up for World Youth Day as a pilgrim using this electronic device.â?
The Sunday heat didn't stop the thousands of pilgrims who filled Saint Peter's Square. The Pope spoke about the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fish. He explained to them that Jesus' food didn't just feed people materially.
POPE FRANCIS
'The crowd was stunned by the miracle of the multiplication of loaves, but the gift that Jesus gives is fullness of life for the hungry man. Jesus satisfies not only material hunger, but that deeper hunger, the hunger for the meaning of life, the hunger for God.â?
He also said that Christians can help other people in moments of difficulty and explained that it's not as hard as it seems.
POPE FRANCIS
'Faced with the suffering, the loneliness, the poverty and the difficulties many people have, what can we do? Complaining doesn't solve anything. But we need to offer what little we have like the little boy in the Gospel. Surely we have an hour of time, some talent, some competence...Who among us doesn't have their 'five loaves and two fish'?.â?
Pope Francis recalled that soon it will be the second anniversary of the kidnapping of a Jesuit priest in Syria, Fr. Paolo Dall'Oglio, who disappeared in Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State. The Pope asked everyone to pray for that priest and every prisoner in war zones. For this reason, he urged international authorities to redouble their efforts to free such prisoners. Together with the pilgrims, he prayed a Hail Mary for the captives.
He also addressed grandparents, since it was the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, and he asked for a round of applause for the unique role that grandparents play in families.
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