Organizers met with Pope Francis and Vatican officials in Rome last week to discuss final preparations for the six-day gathering, which expects to see hundreds of thousands of participants.
In his Jan. 20 video message, Pope Francis noted that 400,000 young adults had already registered to attend World Youth Day.
“It calls my attention and fills me with joy that so many young people will go to WYD, because they need to participate,” he said.
“Thank you for having already registered so far in advance,” the pope added. “Let’s hope others will follow your example.”
Francis said though some participants may claim they are only going to the event as tourists, rather than pilgrims, “deep down, he or she has the thirst to participate, to share, to tell their experience and receive the experience of others.”
He encouraged them to open their hearts to other cultures and to the other young men and women who will be there.
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