Feature
Hopes, Surprises and joy as Pope Francis visits Rio
By Henry Onyango and Agencies The visit to Brazil by Pope Francis, the very first Latin American Pope was seen by many as a necessary move in revitalizing the ailing Catholicism in not only the country but in Latin America continent. Brazil though it remains the most catholic country in the world has slowly been losing faithful to evangelical churches. The World Youth Day celebration was highly anticipated by the faithful both young and old. So cheered up were the Rio’s young faithful that not even windy and rainy weather could deter them from listening to the Holy Father. “This is amazing. It’s more fun than I’ve ever had,” said Michael Nightingale. The 17-year-old had travelled from St. Louis, Missouri, USA and said he was attending World Youth Day for the first time. The youth flocked Rio de Janeiro’s most famous Copacabana beach, in hundreds of thousands welcoming celebration that marked the first of the chain of events that were to follow the papal visit in Brazil.
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ecurity was tight; some of the major city streets had to be closed, creating a safe passage for the very important visitor. Pope Francis was in Rio de Janeiro Brazil.
Over 3 million youth were in Rio to attend the World Youth Day 2013 a good number of them travelling from far and wide. “I will never forget this moment in all of my life,” said Wael Sami, a 22 yr old Iraqi catholic who travelled from Baghdad.
Pilgrims at copacabana beach in Rio where 3 million youth met the pope.
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THE SEED - VOL 25, No. 8 AUGUST 2013