Report || But the Pope wanted the young people in a celebration and they celebrated. Rome (like Paris) is a party
There is a corrupation of statches at the door of the parish of St. John Chrysostom.
Here is a high sacred Monte and Rome is a further Rome, especially the Vatican. It’s already eight at night. It’s Sunday. Breaks in the neighborhood peace, echoing, the song of “Ultra”, to tear her her, but as if there is no stadium here?, Que-wesong that upon arrival of boxes and boxes and boxes – we insist: and boxes, many – of pizza, ends in euphoria, even without goal.
The priest of Ericeira, Tiago Fonseca, who soon tells me, receives to the door, who soon tells me “today I don’t speak to you, today they say.” So it will be. They are young people from their parish, who are in Rome on the occasion of the Jubilee of the teenagers Francisco intended and organized – and kept even after his death. They arrived on the 25th, today this festivity that coincided with the Pope’s funeral ends.
Ericeira came 130. Generality, 76, adolescents, the rest are monitors and family. They have been sleeping there in the school gym-which looks like a battlefield-but the farewell is done in the church hall. Accumulate. They sing, around and then they sing, many are already lacking voice, and sign the shirts and arms of each other, to take memory. Daisy shirt no one can sign, which is Benfica’s – on the back only “Magui”, ace shirt 10 – and it’s not to ruin. It’s 14 years old and it’s like everyone there from Ericeira. And as everyone only came to a party, ending in a funeral.
“The mood, if it changed?“ I think, and speaking for me, it was something that affected me, the Pope’s death, but I tried to keep the faith that it could still be fun. And that’s the sadness there passed. ” It did not pass soon, because as soon as they arrived they went on Saturday, to St. Peter. But it was even fun. [Divertido?] Yes, because it was the first time I visited St. Peter’s Square. Fun in that sense. In the funeral I didn’t cry but I was thrilled, I was touched. Because he was a Pope who meant many good things, do you know?, Meant joy, meant hope, meant friendship. I also really liked his messages. ”
The voice fails him. “We shouted, we sing a lot,” he justifies. Not by heights of the funeral. Then: at the youth party. “It is a pity that it was only three days. But they were very good. We took advantage, at least me and my group. And we changed a lot of things, with Italians – I have a flag of Italy – with Koreans, there were also many Portuguese here, we gave bracelets and they gave what they had.”
Lucas Bento looks exhausted. It’s 13 years old. “But I really liked everything. To participate in Jubilee, to visit the churches – we were in the Basilica of St. Peter, in São João de Latron -, to climb to Holy scaleto pass through the holy doors. And I enjoyed being with other young people from Asia, America, Italy. Especially from the Italians, who got into us because of Ronaldo. [Risos] But in a good one. ”
Jubilee attracted many young people back to church. And this is because of Francis, he considers Lucas. “This year of jubilee a lot of people are back in catechesis, for example. And even with the funeral many people returned. There were many young people away from the church, who had as if away, and the Pope called them. He was the pope of my generation, liked to hear him-the messages, the teachings.
About the coming to Rome, “which was supposed to be a party,” and ended up in a funeral, Lucas says that for him it was a “honor” to come, “and I really liked the funeral, beyond the jubilee.” “It was a special day, the space around the Basilica is beautiful, and it was also an exciting farewell when the Pope came out. I felt in a special place,” he says, returning to the Pizza sliced line, filling the soda cup again. And soon you will sit down.
– Who do I speak now, Lucas?
– With Eva. It’s the worst! [Risos]
Eva Antunes. He is 15 years old, and is very high, even for a journalist who is no less high, makes a point of pointing out that he is “Fonte Boa dos Nabos”, and also points out that he did not go to the Pope’s funeral. “On Saturday, on the funeral? I got sunbathed and sleep. I didn’t want to see the funeral, really. For the weight I have. I’m still new, I don’t like the loss, I don’t like death, I never lived it near, I’m still very young and I thought it was not particularly important to go to the funeral. It’s not out of disrespect-I change me a lot. The church of mine. But my catechist felt his departure immense. “
We’ll be back to Eve’s history. Let’s listen to one of the catechists, here, one of the most thrilled. It is Maria Emilia, “but it can only be Emilia”, is 71 years old and is from Ericeira – Parish of James for nine years – of course, “but Lisbon, born and created.” Also, this conversation had to be, that had to be, with his teenagers about a funeral party.
“The desire to travel, to come here, did not change, nothing. The big impact was lived is at the time of the funeral. The loss was felt, of course, but we worked with them so that they realized it was not a loss, but something greater. We explained that we had won an intercessor with God. We now had a friend in a much larger dimension than the one we knew when we were physically. They have the emotions on their skin, but they understood well, ”he says. And we ask:
“So what does death mean, the loss of Francis?”
– It will be a scar. Sarada and present, to remind us.
And to Emilia the Pope should be remembered with joy. “All life should be celebrated with joy. Sometimes we forget that the air, even the air we breathe, is a miracle, and a joy, an exact proportion of oxygen that allows us to breathe, without exploding or choking. Francis’ legacy is simplicity of life that is simple-people long for simplicity, contemplation. Right things, and cut it right, and we worked. The journalist did not interrupt. There is no simplicity, contemplation and harmony.
The legacy of this Pope is also approaching the church to young people. Let us go back not to interrupt: “This church often distances itself from young people because it simply does not understand them, because it offers heavy or soulless celebrations. They long for more simplicity, as I said before. It is true that they can even live too distracted, too fancy, too alienated. These are young people who are perhaps more inhabited to rapid rhythms, heavy rhythms, but when they are confronted with great beauty, a great beauty. Young man said to me, when he starts raining here in Rome: ‘I like it, the smell of rain, the smell of wet earth’.
Let’s talk about her from Emilia. As it was for her on Saturday morning, the funeral. “We cried. I cried. But it was not a cry of despair. Everything there was transporting me to God, beauty, silence. It was a pure – and almost unbearable emotion of intense. And that’s why we cried.”
Now let’s take up to the young Eva. From good source of the turnips. He tried to convince James, the priest, that it was best to go to the young jubilee party, “which is in August, or July,” not to that of teenagers. But I wanted to come, yet, not by Carlos Acutis, who eventually had his canonization suspended, but by Francisco. “Canonization was perhaps our main motivation. When we learned that this was not going to happen because of the Pope’s death, there was a big doubt, to come or not. But we came because this Pope was also important to us young people. And I hope, I really hope, that this next pope keep this legacy.”
But what legacy is it anyway? “That we should not judge anyone just because it is different. It was difficult for him to include so many people, and so different people, so diverse, in this great Catholic world, which is a still so restricted world. This is what Pope Francis lets us: know how to include everyone.”
Eva took a brief break in a bid of stairs, but returns to the party that is already in half gas, overcome by tiredness – but fed, that pizzas there is only Nutella that is dessert – or only delivered to the phone screens. Eva wanted more party. “I had a pity that the other teen party had been canceled, but of course we couldn’t be in celebration because of death. Still, these three days were amazing, I met a lot of people, especially Italians, we celebrated it immense, it was really beautiful, a big celebration that we took – as the Pope would want.”
James, the priest, begins to appeal to clean the space, which then there will be a small meeting in the Parish St. John Chrysostom, for prayer. It’s 10:30 pm, time of Rome. But first tells me, “You have to talk to Simon.”
Simon is Simão da Silva Reis, 14 years old. He says that when he learned of Francisco’s death “the willingness to travel has changed.” “At first, yes, it changed. But over time we began to feel that this was like a sign of God. It was already marked, the Pope died precisely at that time. We thought it was like an invitation of God to be present in Jubilee and the Funeral.”
On Saturday, at the Vatican, it was thrilled, “and cried a little”, not just for the funeral. “It was a mixture of emotions. Because it was my first time outside Portugal, and it was already striking to me, also because I always dreamed of St. Peter, going to the Basilica. But I realized two dreams at a time. We were all in celebration, but there, in the Pope’s funeral, there was someone who motivated us. fear.” Yes, I had to talk to Simon.
