Pope Francis kicked off the month of August with a trip that he had been looking forward to for years: World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. It had been postponed from the summer of 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While in Lisbon, Pope Francis met with politicians and interreligious leaders and even traveled to Fatima to pray with the sick.
But the majority of his time was spent directly with the youth. He heard confessions, held personal meetings and luncheons and delivered messages to the over 1 million youth gathered there. He encouraged each and every one of them to live boldly.
POPE FRANCIS
Have, therefore, the courage to replace fears with dreams; replace fears with dreams. Do not be administrators of fears but entrepreneurs of dreams!
Pope Francis' four busy days in Lisbon was his first trip since his surgery in June. And on the flight back to Rome, he said he felt perfectly fine. That week, the Pope resumed his Wednesday General Audiences and his official agenda after the summer break.
On the Solemnity of the Assumption on August 15,
the Pope entrusted his concern for the war-torn regions of the world to Mary. He prayed for peace with 10,000 pilgrims in St. Peter's Square.
And at the end of the month, one of his meetings was to receive a prestigous award. Pope Francis was awarded a journalism prize, called “E' Giornalismo,” which is known as the Italian Pulitzer.
POPE FRANCIS
You should know that even before I became Bishop of Rome, I used to decline the offer of awards. I never received any, I did not want to. And I continued to do so even as Pope. There is, however, one reason that prompted me to accept yours, and that is the urgency of constructive communication, which fosters a culture of encounter and not confrontation.
The representatives of the award said having a pope as the recipient was an “unprecedented choice” in its history, but that Pope Francis' mission for peace and truth fits perfectly into it's purpose.
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