More than 2.5 million pilgrims celebrate mass with Pope Francis at ‘Catholic Woodstock’
The medieval centre of Krakow has been overrun all week by flag-waving groups from China to Samoa and Mexico
Pope Francis celebrated mass on Sunday with over 2.5 million pilgrims in a vast sun-drenched field, wrapping up a emotionally charged trip to Poland which took him to Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz.
High-spirited teenagers, scouts, priests and families had camped under the stars in the vast “Campus Misericordiae” (Field of Mercy) near the city of Krakow ahead of the final mass of a week-long Catholic festival.
Francis whipped out technology metaphors for today’s chat and app-happy pilgrims, telling them to “download the best link of all, that of a heart which sees and transmits goodness without growing weary”.
Download the best link of all, that of a heart which sees and transmits goodness
He said they should be dreamers who believe “in a new humanity”, one that “rejects hatred between peoples” and “refuses to see borders and barriers”. They should use the gospel, he said, as their GPS.
Hundreds of thousands of people had streamed to the grassy site on Saturday with folding chairs, sleeping bags, umbrellas and sun-hats, amid warnings hours in the baking July sun could be broken with a rainstorm.
“This is the trip of a lifetime, for me and my whole family,” said 29-year old Mexican pilgrim Isaac Victoria, as volunteers handed out bottles of water to the thirsty crowds.
At the evening vigil on Saturday, Francis chastised “drowsy and dull kids who confuse happiness with a sofa”, urging them to get out and live life rather than spend it glued to smartphones.
The final festivities were attended by “between 2.5 and 3 million people,” 2016 World Youth Day spokesperson Anna Chmura said.
