By Elena Dini
ROME — Eight Lay Centre students attended a youth event with Pope Francis Oct. 6, in the context of the 2018 Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment.
Pope Francis met with young people at a five-day pre-Synod meeting in March, at which three Lay Centre students participated.
This past weekend, the pope gathered with young people again in the Paul VI Hall. The event, organized by the Congregation for Catholic Education, was open to all young people and has as its theme, “WE FOR—unique, supportive, creative.”
This meeting allowed some young people to offer their testimonies about their life in terms of their study and work, their feelings, their future, and their vocational choice.
The testimonies, interspersed with musical and artistic performances, included the themes of search for identity, relationships, and life as service and gift.
It was the first opportunity to see the pope for some of the new students at The Lay Centre.
“It is impossible to describe how you feel when you meet Pope Francis, maybe because in a room crowded with young people, he was the most open-minded. Although he is more than 80 years old, he showed us what it means to be really young: to have a vision and be filled with hope,” said Eliza Kydoniefs, a new resident scholar studying at the Urbaniana University.
In his discourse, Pope Francis invited youth to walk on their path and “to look at the horizon, not in the mirror.”
He also talked about the importance of coherence: “If you are a Christian, take the Beatitudes and put them into practice,” he said. Other themes he tackled were the use of the web and media consumption, the power of service, and the fear of the stranger.
Pope Francis said what he was sharing were only principles and not answers to young people’s questions.
“If I were to give answers here, I would nullify the Synod. Answers have to come from all of us, they have to be the result of our reflection, our discussion and, above all, have to be given without any fear,” he stated.
Reflecting on her day, Kydoniefs said the best memory “is not only that I was in the same hall with the pope, but that I was there with the pope and surrounded by friends, by my community, who was deeply touched by young people’s testimonies.”
