Dearest Brothers and Sisters!

1. The echo of World Youth Day has not died down among the public. The hearts of youths, who were greatly liked, beat for several days in Rome: happy, peaceful youths, quick to greet and smile, respectful of the city and nature, in love with Jesus Christ and his message. They are a people who enter the third millennium with new energy.

    Some of those youths are still in Rome, and a representation is here this very day. I see numerous Gen youths of the Focolare Movement, and I greet them with great affection, pleased with their visit.

    We thank the Lord for the good that the Youth's Jubilee has sown in the Church and the world. Their sheer numbers has made a great impression on all. However, World Youth Day is only a stage in the road that must be followed. All the youths who have returned to their own countries are called to go deeper into their choice of the Gospel and coherence with their lives. During the unforgettable Vigil in Tor Vergata, I spoke about the "laboratory of faith, of that wonderful spiritual laboratory in which all can grow in dialogue with God in the understanding of their faith, and become credible witnesses of Christ.

2. Almost as an extension of the Youth Jubilee, next Sunday, September 3, that of University professors will begin. The topic will be: "The University for a New Humanism." On the threshold of the third millennium, the Church proposes again to the world of culture and, in particular, to that of the university, the message of Christ as the source of a view of mankind and the world in which God's plan is fully reflected. It is possible to form the new generations in his light, preparing them to face the great challenges of history, to construct societies of solidarity and attention to persons, especially the weakest. Because of this, it is necessary to foment an intense and attentive dialogue between faith and culture, so that these will be regenerated through the encounter with the old and always current Good News.

3. I entrust the fruits of World Youth Day and the development of the forthcoming University Jubilee to Our Lady, Mother of the Church and Virgin of the total and generous "yes" to the Lord's call. May she help youths to keep alive the flame of fire of the love of God. May she obtain for all a determined desire for sanctity, to be the evangelical leaven and ferment in the earthly city. ZE00082720

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