{UAH} World Youth Day : 3.5 million people attend Pope's Copacabana Mass!

All records beaten! Copacabana which entertains big musical festivals, football events

and rockstar pops has welcomed its largest crowds in history Close to four million people

attended Pope Francis's great Mass for the youth event.

By 8 am the whole 4-mile long  beach had been filled with torrents of people many of whom

had slept there!

He got ready to say Mass before those millions and was surrounded by 60 cardinals, 1500 bishops,

11000 priests in addition to four heads of state : the president of Brazil, the President of Argentina,

the President of Bolivia, and the President of Surinam. There were also two Vice-Presidents, one of 

Uruguay and one of Panama.

He advised the youths to be athletes of Christ and to fight for a more just and fraternal society.

He also stated that World Youth Day  was a more weighty event than World Cup! He enumerated some of

his major priorities : charity for the poor, priests to come closer to the people, and the revangelizing of those

areas where Catholics have left the Church.

The Pope announced Poland's city of Krakow as venue for the next World Youth Day ( 2016 ). Krakow has been

chosen to honour Blessed Pope John Paul II who was cardinal archbishop there and to whom the world owes

the World Youth Day. 

After Mass the Pope met the 60,000 volunteers who organized the event and thanked them very warmly.

And in the evening there was the farewell ceremony at the airport. The Pope who was flown there in a military helicopter

entered the VIP Lounge holding his bag as a hand luggage amid deafening cheers from all VIPs assembled for the occasion.

On behalf of the President of Argentina the Vice-President delivered the farewell protocol.He qualified the Pope as

a real evangelizer just as Christ Himself is because he had brought with him words of peace. He advised the Pope to enter

Brazil next time without knocking at the door because he had already entered into every Brazilian's heart to whom he had brought 

real joy.

The V-P's speech was followed with the presentation of specially prepared bunches of flowers which impressed the Pope who

in reply stated that he was going awy filled with good memories. And that he was beginning to feel nostalgic about the many things

he had seen including the good people, the wonderful organization, etc ;; all of which will bear good fruit to gather.

Amid ululations the Pope boarded for Rome where many things are waiting for him : two important canonizations ( John Paul II

and John XXIII ), the closure of the Holy Year of Faith and the reforms within the bureaucratic Curia.

In general the visit was a very great triumph for this much charismatic Pope who has been on St Peter's throne for a mere four months now. He won much thanks t his very impressive presence to everyone, and he tried to reach out to all including those

Catholics who had already left the Church. And this strategy has worked very successfully in Rio de Janeiro! 

And the capacity crowds which cheered him throughout. They came from all over the world and Rio is said to have welcomed

about 22 million people who had specially come to the City for the Pope. All Rio's 530 hotels were booked to full capacity. And

many had to be welcomed in the homes of the ordinary people where they enjoyed brotherly hospitality, all motivated by the

magnificent presence of a very much fraternally lovely Pope Francis the Great!

Dr G.H. Kkolokolo  ( Paris / France )