More than a decade after Pope Francis’ historic visit to Brazil During the World Youth Day, in 2013, the historian and master in sustainability by PUC-Rio, Walmyr Júnior, remembers with emotion the moment when he spoke in the name of Brazilian youth, especially the young people of the peripheries, before the pontiff.
“The voice of the church is a young, black, poor and slum voice,” Walmyr said in an interview with CNN . At 28, he was chosen to speak at the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theater in the face of religious and political authorities.
“It was a time to talk to the Pope about the reality of youth in Brazil at that time, which is not much different from what we live today,” he said. “Young people vulnerable by the absence of public policies, young people in conflict with the law, young people without access to education, culture, the labor market. But also young people who dream, who want to rewrite their history and point out new horizons for society.”
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Walmyr’s emotional speech took place at one of the highlights of the World Youth Day, which culminated in a Mass in Copacabana with a record audience: 3.7 million people, according to the Vatican.
Kelson’s favela, in the Maré Complex, he pointed out that Pope Francis’ presence in Brazil meant much more than a symbolic gesture.
“Francis is the Pope of Hope. He points to the poorest, the excluded, the black, the indigenous, the slum, the LGBT’s. The Pope’s hug is the hug of the church, it is the hug of Christ.”
During the interview, Walmyr showed the third he received as a gift from the Pope.
“This little girl accompanies me in the moments of hardness of life, but also in moments of joy. It was a gesture of faith and welcoming. Francisco hugged me as a father, as a church.”
In projecting the future of the church, Walmyr reinforced the desire for continuity of the legacy left by Pope Francis.
“May the next Pope be inspired by the Holy Spirit to fertilize the good news of Jesus from socio -environmental justice, the defense of human rights and the valorization of life. Youth must continue to be heard.”
This content was originally published in “Papa da Esperança”: Young recall speech to Pontiff in Brazil on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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