The Pope closed today in Lisbon the first World Youth Day (WYD) after the pandemic, which exceeded forecasts, with more than one and a half million faithful from all over the world, and where he had special recognition for the victims of sexual abuse, called on young people to move forward without fear and insisted that there is room for everyone in the Church.
Lisbon, with half a million inhabitants, took on the challenge of receiving the largest Catholic concentration with the aim of bringing together one million pilgrims. But the reality far exceeded the estimates.
Of the 500,000 pilgrims who attended the opening mass on Tuesday, in Parque Eduardo VII, participation increased to the "encampment" of a million and a half faithful who wrapped up the pontiff at the vigil on Saturday night and at the mass farewell party this Sunday at Parque Tejo, an esplanade with an area equivalent to a hundred football fields on the banks of the river.
Crowds that were joined by the thousands of people who gathered in the streets of the Portuguese capital to greet the passage of the papal entourage during the five days of his visit, and in which the activity of the city center has been paralyzed .
"It is something never seen in Portugal", a "madness", summed up this Sunday the president of the country, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The Pope arrived in a Portugal shaken by the revelations of an independent commission that, in February, denounced the existence of at least 4,800 victims of abuse committed against minors within the Portuguese Church.
The victims demanded justification, recognition and criticized the reaction of the Portuguese Church and the fact that the issue was not on the official WYD agenda.
In a speech before the clergy of the country on his first day in Lisbon, the pontiff asked the Church of Portugal for "a humble and constant purification" in relation to this scandal and that the victims "are always welcomed and listened to."
Hours later, Francisco met in private with 13 victims of pedophilia, to whom he apologized on behalf of the institution. A gesture that the victims have valued, although, they warn, it is not enough.
Francisco has not had a truce in this WYD. At the age of 86, he has fulfilled a busy schedule that has included trips, large masses, a visit to the sanctuary of Fatima and private meetings.
The Pope, who has broken the protocol to greet the crowd and has not adhered to the scheduled speeches on several occasions, has insisted on a message for young people throughout these days: "In the Church there is space for everyone ".
"When there is not this space, let us strive so that there is, also for the one who is wrong, for the one who falls, for the one who has a hard time," he said at the welcome ceremony.
And he insisted during his brief visit to Fatima: "The small chapel where we are is a beautiful image of the Church, welcoming and without doors. The Church has no doors, so that everyone can enter."
An especially significant message at a WYD in which there have been incidents of intolerance with LGTBI people.
The Pope also asked young people not to abuse social networks or screens and today, at the final Mass, he encouraged them not to be "afraid" and to build a different world.
"You all want to change the world and you want to change it for justice and peace," he said.
"Obrigado (Thank you). Lisbon remains in the memory of young people as the city of dreams," Francisco concluded.
After the massive farewell that the pilgrims gave him at his last mass in Lisbon, the pope wanted to thank the WYD volunteers for their efforts.
"Be surfers of love," Francisco asked the more than 25,000 young people who turned the farewell party into a party. "Now, get on the wave," he said, alluding to the giant waves in the town of Nazaré before leaving for the airport to return to Rome.
The next appointment, in Seoul 2027.
