SCRANTON – Recent renovations to Saint Anthony’s Haven, Scranton’s only year-round emergency shelter for both men and women, will not only improve the comfort of guests but will allow the facility to continue serving people with disabilities.

The facility, at 409 Olive St., recently created a new handicap entrance/exit, renovated both the men’s and women’s restrooms and the common areas and installed new cabinets and flooring in the shelter’s kitchen area. In the next phase of the project, which will be partially supported by American Rescue Plan Act grant funding from Lackawanna County, the building’s roof will be replaced.

A $30,000 grant from the Robert H. Spitz Foundation supported recent renovations at Saint Anthony’s Haven, Scranton’s only year-round emergency shelter for both men and women. Pictured at the check presentation are, from left: Cathy Fitzpatrick, Grants & Scholarship Manager, Scranton Area Community Foundation; Frank Caputo, Grants & Communications Coordinator, Scranton Area Community Foundation; Sandra Snyder, Diocesan Director of Foundation Relations and Special Events; and Laura Ducceschi, President/CEO, Scranton Area Community Foundation, Administrator of Robert H. Spitz Foundation.

The most recent work was completed with the help of the city of Scranton, local charitable foundations, including The Moses Taylor Foundation and the Robert H. Spitz Foundation, and a national funder, The Pulte Family Charitable Foundation.

Harry Lyons, program supervisor of Saint Anthony’s Haven, said the new handicap entrance was a critical need after a sale of half the building that resulted in renovations by the new owner removed access to a previous point of entry.

“It was really important for us to establish this new handicap entrance so we can serve everybody. We have a number of people who use walkers and wheelchairs,” Lyons explained. “I recently got a call from the VA about a gentleman with no legs who uses a motorized wheelchair, so having this project finished will now ensure we have the ability to accommodate him.”

Saint Anthony’s Haven can safely accommodate 20 men and six women each night.

In addition to overnight shelter, the facility provides two meals per day, shower and laundry facilities and supportive services.

The number of individuals experiencing homelessness who rely on Saint Anthony’s Haven has returned to levels previously experienced before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, Saint Anthony’s Haven provided 4,371 individual nights of shelter to clients. In 2021, the number rose to 5,658, and in 2022 6,410 individual nights of shelter were provided.

“The Robert H. Spitz Foundation is focused on supporting programs that aim to break the cycle of poverty,” said Laura Ducceschi, president of the Scranton Area Community Foundation, which administers the Robert H. Spitz Foundation. “Supporting the renovation work at Saint Anthony’s Haven will help to better serve those populations in need of the facility’s services, and the Robert H. Spitz Foundation is proud to be able to help the community in this way.”

Robert H. Spitz Foundation funding also was used to replace the Olive Street entrance roof and help remove nine deteriorated and dangerous balconies from Saint James Manor, the building that houses Saint Anthony’s Haven.

The mission of Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, which operates Saint Anthony’s Haven, is to serve individuals and families in poverty and advocate for dignity and self-sufficiency.

“We don’t want anyone left out in the street or left out in the cold,” Lyons added.

“We’re incredibly thankful for the grant funding we have received for this project,” Lyons stated. “Without the support of the community we would not be able to continue serving our brothers and sisters in the way that we do.”

ACCRA, Ghana – The Catholic-Pentecostal International Dialogue held its third meeting of the seventh phase of dialogue in Millennium City (near Kasoa), Ghana, at the Pentecost Convention Centre of the Church of Pentecost between July 13-18, 2023.

Since its initiation in 1972, this was the first time that the dialogue took place in the Global South, allowing the participants to experience the vivacity of the local Christian Catholic and Pentecostal communities.

Members of the Catholic-Pentecostal International Dialogue met in Accra, Ghana, during the week of July 13-18, 2023. The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, serves as the Catholic co-chair of the Dialogue.

Participants in the Dialogue include Catholics appointed by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPCU), and Pentecostals appointed by some Classical Pentecostal churches affiliated with the Pentecostal World Fellowship (PWF).

The general theme of the current phase, which started in 2018, is “Lex orandi, lex credendi” (“the law of prayer is the law of faith”).

After reflecting on the general topic and discussing “Kerygma/Preaching and Christian Life” (2022), the third session was dedicated to “Worship/Prayer and Christian Life.”

The goal of the Dialogue is to promote mutual respect and understanding in matters of faith and practice. Genuine exchange and frank discussion concerning the positions and practices of the two traditions have been the guiding principles of this bilateral theological dialogue.

Meeting for the first time in Africa, the Dialogue benefitted from local contacts, exchanges and visits.

On Friday, July 14, the Catholic Archbishop of Cape Coast, the Most Reverend Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle met, prayed and had a vibrant exchange with the participants.

On Sunday, July 16, the Dialogue attended a church service at the Pentecost International Worship Centre Atomic-Accra. The members of the Dialogue were hosted by local pastor, Rev. Anthony Mensah and welcomed by the General Secretary of the Church of Pentecost, Rev. Alexander Kumi-Larbi.

The participants had a deeply meaningful guided tour to Elmina Castle, July 17, with its testimony to the Atlantic slave trade, which provided an opportunity to learn about a very painful chapter of human history in which Christians were complicit.

Participants acknowledge with gratitude the cordial and fraternal assistance provided by many members of the Church of Pentecost, chaired by Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye, which hosted us in Ghana.

During the third session, Catholics presented a paper entitled, “Catholic Worship, Prayers and Liturgy,” prepared by Rev. Dr. Paschal C. Mbagwu.

The Pentecostal paper, entitled, “Worship and Prayer: A Pentecostal Perspective,” was prepared by Rev. Prof. Jacqueline N. Grey.

Morning and evening prayers each day were led alternately by Catholics and Pentecostals.

Co-chairs of the Dialogue are the Most Reverend Joseph Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, and Rev. Prof. Cecil M. Robeck, Jr. Professor of Church History and Ecumenics, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California. They were assisted by Rev. David Wells, Chair of the PWF Christian Unity Commission, as well as by Rev. David Cole, Liaison to the Greater Christian Community for the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America, and by Msgr. Juan Usma Gómez, DPCU, who served as co-secretaries.

According to Bishop Bambera, “Pope Francis’ message for the 50th anniversary of the Dialogue (Rome 2022), has resonated throughout this week: ‘One thing is certain. Unity is not chiefly the result of our activity, but a gift of the Holy Spirit. Yet, unity will not come about as a miracle at the very end. Rather, unity comes about in the journeying.’ The Dialogue’s meeting in Ghana, recognizing the global nature of the work of Christian unity and highlighting the depth of Christian faith of the African continent, has been a powerful reminder to us all of the challenges and blessings of the work before us. The path of unity, as Pope Francis reminds us, is not the path of proselytism or uniformity. It lies in journeying together. The path of unity most clearly emerges when each of us continues to grow in our mutual respect for one another, as is so evidenced in our Catholic-Pentecostal International Dialogue.”
Prof. Robeck noted, “By bringing the dialogue to Accra, Ghana this year, we have taken it to the global South, where the majority of Christians now live. This move enabled the delegates to participate in a vital Pentecostal worship service together among these growing churches. It also enabled us to hear something of the slave trade that ravaged the African continent. In the midst of all these things, the Church of Pentecost Convention Centre offered gracious hospitality on its beautiful campus in Millennium City. Rev. Opoku Onyinah, immediate past Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, continues to be an active member of our dialogue.”

The last meeting of the Dialogue was in July 2022 in Rome, for its 50th anniversary.

SCRANTON – Born and raised just one street over from the Basilica of the National Shrine of Saint Ann, Kathy Dennebaum feels a deep connection to the annual Solemn Novena. She makes it a priority to attend services each year.

“I’ve had three major intentions that I’ve brought to the Novena and all three of them came to fruition so I’m a firm believer,” she explained.

Crowds gather on the lawn of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Saint Ann on July 26, 2023.

An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people attended Novena services each day this year.
“This has been a very sacred place since I was a little kid. My grandmother and grandfather had nine children that came here and were all members of this parish until they died,” Dennebaum added. “I just like to come and listen to the priests when they speak. A lot of times it’s very meaningful.”

The West Scranton native, who has been married to her husband Mark for 45 years, now bring their own grandson to experience the peace that comes from the prayerful place.

“I think it goes back to the fact that we grew up here and we’d like to have him be part of what we were part of when we were young,” Mark Dennebaum said.

This year marked the 99th year for the annual Novena that began July 17, 2023. The Novena concluded July 26, the Feast of Saint Ann.

“We never miss it, my whole family of eight sisters and brothers,” Patricia DeNapoli, a parishioner of Saints Anthony and Rocco Parish in Dunmore, said. “No matter what I ask, somehow, someway, it gets answered. You have to believe. If you don’t have faith there is nothing else!”

Very Rev. Richard W. Burke, C.P., rector of Saint Ann’s Shrine Basilica, said the annual Novena remains popular because Saint Ann is such a powerful intercessor.

“Every week we get letters and calls and have conversations with people who had their prayers answered one way or another through the intercession of Saint Ann,” Father Richard said.

With the centennial anniversary of the Solemn Novena quickly approaching, Father Richard believes its importance and relevance is just as important as when it started in 1924.

“Just think about all the major issues that we have to pray about. We can influence them through the gift of our prayers that God gives to us, we can influence the events of the world,” Father Richard stated. “The end of the hostility in Ukraine is a prayer that is on everybody’s mind. When they send in their petitions to put at the Altar of Saint Ann, nine out of ten of them have peace in Ukraine on those petitions.”

Jacob and Matthew Metzger, twins who grew up in West Scranton, began attending the Novena at a young age.

“This is the holiest ground I could be on,” Matthew said. “It is the greatest time of the year. It brings us a lot of peace and a lot of happiness to come down here.”

At 20 years old, the twins, who are both pre-med students, now volunteer every year at the food stand at the Solemn Novena to Saint Ann.

“It is such an amazing place to be. Everyone is kind and loving and filled with the Holy Spirit,” Jacob said. “It’s a family environment here. We all love what we do. We all love helping the people and putting a smile on people’s faces every day.”

With the 2023 Novena just having wrapped-up, coordinators say they will not waste any time in getting ready for next year.

“We’re going to get a committee going in August to begin planning what is going to happen next year. We already have some suggestions,” Father Richard hinted. “It will be very special.”

SCRANTON – As he celebrated the closing Mass of the Solemn Novena to Saint Ann, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, told a personal story which he said emphasized the power and presence of God in his life.

It revolved around an encounter with a man experiencing homelessness on a cold winter night around Christmas. The man – who said he was hungry and needed shelter – approached the bishop as he tried to get inside the Cathedral rectory.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, delivers the homily during the Closing Mass for the Solemn Novena July 26, 2023.

“As I was struggling with what appeared to me to be a set-up, some better angels spoke to my heart. What if he was telling me the truth? How could I turn someone away who was in such need? What would Jesus do?” Bishop Bambera told the crowd. “Maybe that was Jesus – testing me and my resolve to live as his disciple.”

After some internal struggle inside his mind, the bishop provided the man with some money to get something to eat and stay in a local hotel.

“I felt a little bit guilty for wondering about his honesty. But then I took some quiet consolation in trusting that, as best I could, I tried to be a witness to what I believe as a Christian,” Bishop Bambera explained. “Remember those words of Jesus? ‘When I was hungry, you gave me food. But when Lord? As often as you did it to the least of my brothers or sisters, you did it to me!’”

The bishop said every person gathered at the Closing Mass of the Novena has likely had a moment like the one he experienced at his backdoor last winter.

“For me, that exchange became an unexpected moment that was filled with the presence of God. God was teaching me a lesson about all that is possible when we set aside our selfish, self-centered, self-righteous ways, when we seek to forgive, and when we let Jesus guide us forward,” he said. “Every one of us has been and continues to be touched by the presence of God in our lives when we least expect that presence to grasp hold of our hands and hearts. And every one of us can recount a moment in our lives – perhaps even during this treasured Novena – in which we were blessed to encounter the presence of God.”

As he ended the Novena, Bishop Bambera urged the faithful to follow the path that the Lord desires.

“God continues to use unlikely individuals like (Saints) Ann and Joachim, like Joseph and Mary, like me and you, to accomplish his purpose in our world – to give hope – and to proclaim a message of life, salvation, mercy and peace,” he said.

SCRANTON – The annual Mass of the Anointing of the Sick during the Solemn Novena to Saint Ann brought out a large crowd on July 20, 2023, as hundreds chose to experience the healing presence of Jesus in their lives.

“It means everything to me. I love it,” Patricia Williams said.

During the Mass with the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, held during the Solemn Novena to Saint Ann on July 20, 2023, Very Rev. Richard W. Burke, rector, Saint Ann’s Monastery, administers the Sacrament.

Williams, a native of Scranton, made a special effort to attend this year’s Mass with her friend.

“I got my friend to come because she just had an operation and I came for my eyes,” she explained. “I might lose my eyesight because of macular degeneration in my family. I mainly came for that.”

During his homily, Very Rev. Richard W. Burke, C.P., rector of Saint Ann’s Shrine Basilica, described two precious moments he had recently celebrating the sacraments. One was with a 92-year-old nun and the other with a person in a coma who later recovered.

“The Sacrament of the Anointing is a very powerful moment of grace for everyone who wants to receive it, anyone who is sick, any of us who are elderly,” Father Richard explained. “It is a wonderful opportunity to look into the eyes of Jesus and discover His love, discover His healing presence and discover His guiding force in the heart of our lives.”

Elaine Jacklinski of Scranton believes attending the Mass of the Anointing of the Sick at last year’s Novena played a part in saving her life.

“Last year, it was very beneficial for me because my heart stopped a few days after the Novena when I was in the hospital and I was brought back and I feel it was because of the anointing Mass that God was with me,” the West Scranton resident explained.

While she admits it isn’t as easy getting to the special Mass because of mobility issues, Jacklinski is thankful she was able to attend.

“This Mass is very special. It’s very beneficial for me,” she said.

SCRANTON – Benita Trently has been attending the Solemn Novena to Saint Ann for years and was thrilled this year’s annual devotion included a Mass in Spanish for the first time.

“There is a big Spanish community so hopefully they will start coming and start participating,” Trently said.

Father Luis Daniel Guivas, C.P., celebrated the first Mass in Spanish at the Solemn Novena to Saint Ann on July 23, 2023.

On Sunday, July 23, 2023, Father Luis Daniel Guivas, C.P., who is originally from Puerto Rico, but currently stationed in Queens, N.Y., celebrated the first Spanish Mass for the Novena at 1:30 p.m.

“The hope is to have this first step so we can promote it so we can have a bigger celebration next year during the whole Novena,” he said.

Jonathan Ramos, who is in formation for the Passionist community, said it is important to welcome people of all backgrounds and languages.

“Having this today is a great opportunity to get to know more people, our neighbors, and have the opportunity to serve them,” Ramos explained.

Very Rev. Richard W. Burke, C.P., rector of Saint Ann’s Shrine Basilica, said he is hopeful that for the Novena’s 100th anniversary next year they will be able to offer daily Masses in Spanish.

“I’m hoping that we’re going to be able to inaugurate a daily celebration in Spanish next year. We have so many members of Hispanic origin who are very devoted and dedicated people and I think it’s very important to make something available to them as part of the Novena,” Father Richard said.

That news is very exciting for Trently, who believes Saint Ann performs many miracles.

“My mother was very sick two months ago and I prayed to her (Saint Ann) to leave her here and she did, so I do believe she fulfills miracles,” Trently said. “My mother is healthy now. She is doing much better!”

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The Biden administration has drawn criticism for its inclusion of abortion in a proposed rule for a bipartisan law guaranteeing protections for pregnant workers that had the support of Catholic, pro-life and Republican leaders.

The bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was passed by Congress Dec. 27, 2022, signed into law by President Joe Biden Dec. 29 and went into effect in June. The law prohibits employment practices that discriminate against making reasonable accommodations for qualified employees due to their pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.

A pregnant woman is seen outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington in this 2016 file photo. On Aug. 8, 2023, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, objected to a proposed interpretation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to include accommodations for obtaining an abortion. (OSV News photo/Tyler Orsburn, CNS)

A rule proposed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Aug. 7 governing the implementation of that law contains broad language including abortion among “related medical conditions,” and the potential circumstances for which employers may have to grant workplace accommodations, which can include time off or additional rest breaks.

In a statement, EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows said the new law “is a step forward for workers, families and the economy. This important new civil rights law promotes the economic security and health of pregnant and postpartum workers by providing them with access to support on the job to keep working, which helps employers retain critical talent.”

Burrows said the EEOC welcomed the public “to provide meaningful feedback about how the proposal would impact workplaces and ways to assist employers and workers in understanding the law.”

The rule defines “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” as inclusive of “current pregnancy, past pregnancy, potential pregnancy, lactation (including breastfeeding and pumping), use of birth control, menstruation, infertility and fertility treatments, endometriosis, miscarriage, stillbirth, or having or choosing not to have an abortion, among other conditions.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a medical doctor who is the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and worked to pass the legislation with Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said in a statement the Biden administration “has gone rogue.”

“These regulations completely disregard legislative intent and attempt to rewrite the law by regulation,” Cassidy said. “The Biden administration has to enforce the law as passed by Congress, not how they wish it was passed. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is aimed at assisting pregnant mothers who remain in the workforce by choice or necessity as they bring their child to term and recover after childbirth. The decision to disregard the legislative process to inject a political abortion agenda is illegal and deeply concerning.”

Many pro-life advocates, including the U.S. bishops, supported the legislation, but criticized the proposed regulation.

In a statement, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said the bishops supported the bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act “because it enhanced the protection of pregnant mothers and their preborn children, which is something that we have encouraged Congress to prioritize.”

“The Act is pro-worker, pro-family, and pro-life,” Bishop Burbidge said. “It is a total distortion to use this law as a means for advancing abortion, and the complete opposite of needed assistance for pregnant mothers.”

Bishop Burbidge said the EEOC’s proposed interpretation of the legislation to “include accommodations for obtaining an abortion is wrong and contrary to the text, legislative history, and purpose of the Act, which is to help make it possible for working mothers to remain gainfully employed, if desired, while protecting their health and that of their preborn children.”

“We are hopeful that the EEOC will be forced to abandon its untenable position when public comments submitted on this regulation demonstrate that its interpretation would be struck down in court,” he said.

In a statement, Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Julie Marie Blake said “Congress sought to help pregnant workers, not force employers to facilitate abortions.”

“The Biden administration is hijacking a bipartisan law that doesn’t even mention abortion to forcibly require every employer in America to provide ‘reasonable accommodations’ for their workers’ elective abortions,” Blake said. “The administration’s unlawful proposal violates state laws protecting the unborn and employers’ pro-life and religious beliefs. The administration doesn’t have the legal authority to smuggle an abortion mandate into a transformational pro-life, pro-woman law. Alliance Defending Freedom stands ready to continue defending unborn lives and to oppose this egregious federal overreach.”

EEOC said the rule will be published for public comment in the Federal Register Aug. 11. Members of the public wishing to comment on the proposal will have 60 days from the date of publication to do so by visiting regulations.gov.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Signaling the Vatican’s growing engagement in efforts to ensure the ethical development of new technologies, the Vatican has announced that “Artificial Intelligence and Peace” will be the theme for the next World Day of Peace, which is scheduled for Jan. 1, 2024.

“The remarkable advances made in the field of artificial intelligence are having a rapidly increasing impact on human activity, personal and social life, politics and the economy,” the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said in a statement released Aug. 8.

Pope Francis meets leaders from the tech industry at the Vatican March 27, 2023. The pope called for an “ethical and responsible” development of artificial intelligence. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

“Pope Francis calls for an open dialogue on the meaning of these new technologies, endowed with disruptive possibilities and ambivalent effects,” the statement said.

The pope, it continued, “recalls the need to be vigilant and to work so that a logic of violence and discrimination does not take root in the production and use of such devices, at the expense of the most fragile and excluded; injustice and inequalities fuel conflicts and antagonisms.”

The World Day of Peace was inaugurated by St. Paul VI in 1968 and is celebrated every Jan. 1, the feast of Mary, Mother of God. In recent editions, Pope Francis has used the world day to call for inclusive ways of overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, creating dialogue between generations, promoting a culture of care and ecological conversion.

In March, the pope met with tech industry leaders, ethicists and theologians at the Vatican to consider the ethical development of AI, and in January he addressed industry leaders from companies such as Microsoft and IBM as well as members of the Jewish and Muslim communities during a Vatican conference on ethics in AI.

At the end of the conference, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim representatives signed a declaration calling on AI researchers to engage with ethicists and religious leaders to develop a framework for the ethical use of AI.

The Vatican’s Aug. 8 statement underscored that “the urgent need to orient the concept and use of artificial intelligence in a responsible way, so that it may be at the service of humanity and the protection of our common home, requires that ethical reflection be extended to the sphere of education and law.”

It added that human dignity and a concern for fraternity are “indispensable conditions for technological development to help contribute to the promotion of justice and peace in the world.”

In an interview with the Spanish magazine Vida Nueva released Aug. 5, the pope said, “All these issues of Artificial Intelligence go over my head because of the complexity they are reaching,” but said he is being “guided” by officials and experts working with the Dicastery for Culture and Education.

Yet, he added that “new technologies have great potential; they are a gift from God and can give good fruits, but they need to have heart, they need to be humanized.”

LISBON, Portugal (CNS) – World Youth Day is returning to Asia in 2027 and will be hosted in Seoul, South Korea.

Pope Francis announced the location Aug. 6 to some 1.5 million pilgrims who attended the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon.

A young man from South Korea waves his country’s flag before Pope Francis arrives for the closing Mass of World Youth Day at Tejo Park in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 6, 2023. At the end of Mass, the pope announced the next WYD will be held in Seoul, South Korea, in 2027. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

“The next World Youth Day will take place in Asia. It will be in South Korea, in Seoul,” he said to cheers from the estimated 1,000 South Korean pilgrims, many of them proudly waving their country’s flag.

“In 2027, from the western border of Europe, (World Youth Day) will move to the Far East, and this is a beautiful sign of the universality of the church and the dream of unity of which you are witnesses,” the pope said.

Pope Francis prefaced his announcement by urging young people to travel to Rome in 2025 to participate in youth celebrations during the jubilee year, when Vatican officials expect more than 30 million pilgrims to flock to the Eternal City.

The pope’s decision marks the second time the international gathering of young people will take place in Asia. In 1995, an estimated 5 million people attended World Youth Day in Manila, Philippines, with St. John Paul II.

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick of Seoul said at a news conference Aug. 6 that while it is unrealistic to expect millions to participate in Seoul’s World Youth Day, he anticipates many young foreigners — Catholics and not — will come to South Korea for the event drawn by their many cultural offerings, including K-pop, the popular Korean music.

Archbishop Chung said he hoped to achieve similar participation numbers as World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney — about 300,000 — which also involved a significant number of foreigners traveling to the country.

“World Youth Day is not just a Catholic event, it is a global celebration and a platform for interreligious encounters,” he said speaking through a translator. He also acknowledged the “immense challenge” of welcoming young people around the world to Seoul but said that South Korea is a highly efficient country capable of hosting the event.

The archbishop said the next World Youth Day “aspires to become a radiant beacon of unity embracing the rich culture of East Asia.”

The event would be the first time World Youth Day is held in a Christian-minority country. Catholics make up an estimated 11% of the country’s population — about 5.7 million people — according to a 2020 report from the Korean bishops’ conference.

Pope Francis traveled to South Korea in 2014 to beatify 124 Korean martyrs at a ceremony in Seoul.

LISBON, Portugal (CNS) – To end “Catholic Woodstock” – as World Youth Day has been called by the Portuguese press – Pope Francis told 1.5 million weary-eyed and sleep-deprived young people in Lisbon not to let their “great dreams” of changing the world be “stopped by fear.”

Pope Francis waves to the crowd at the end of the closing Mass for World Youth Day at Tejo Park in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 6, 2023. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

In his homily for the closing Mass of World Youth Day Aug. 6, the pope asked for “a bit of silence” from the pilgrims who, after staying overnight in Lisbon’s Tejo Park following the previous night’s vigil, at 6 a.m. were already dancing to techno music mixed by a DJ priest before the pope’s arrival.

“Let’s all repeat this phrase in our hearts: ‘Don’t be afraid,'” he told the hushed crowd. “Jesus knows the hearts of each one of you, the successes and the failures, he knows your hearts,” Pope Francis said. “And today he tells you, here in Lisbon for this World Youth Day: ‘Don’t be afraid.'”

As dawn broke over the riverside park, pilgrims emerged from tents, tarps and sleeping bags to prepare for Mass. Violeta Marovic, 19, from Chicago, told Catholic News Service that the pilgrims spent the 10 hours between the previous night’s vigil and the papal Mass “sleeping very little,” dancing, playing games and exchanging gifts with other young people from around the world; she was wearing bracelets given to her by pilgrims from Italy and Poland.

A theology major at the University of Dallas, Marovic said she normally gets “nervous” when she tells people what she studies, but she has been comforted by seeing the huge amount of people so passionate about their faith, noting that young Catholics often “feel alone” when practicing their religion in the United States.

At the front of the crowd, which extended across both banks of Lisbon’s Trancão River, 30 cardinals, 700 bishops and 10,000 priests concelebrated the Mass with Pope Francis. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was seated in the front row.

Cardinal Manuel do Nascimento Clemente of Lisbon thanked the pope for making World Youth Day an opportunity for young people to come together and build a better tomorrow “after a pandemic that has confined them and otherwise distanced them from each other and from the best (version) of themselves.”

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, which organizes World Youth Day, thanked Pope Francis for bringing together in Lisbon young people “who have been pilgrims of peace in times in which many, too many, wars are being fought in so many parts of the world.”

Before revealing the location of the next World Youth Day, Pope Francis invited young people to travel to Rome for a youth celebration during the Holy Year 2025. The next World Youth Day, to take place in 2027, he continued, “will be in South Korea, in Seoul,” he said to cheers from the sizeable groups of Koreans scattered in the crowd.

In remarks after Mass, the pope also recalled the suffering of Ukraine and asked young people if he, “an old man,” could share a dream of his: “the dream of peace, the dream that young people may pray for peace, live in peace and build a peaceful future.”

Using the Portuguese word for thank you — “obrigado” — the pope thanked the organizers of World Youth Day, the volunteers who made it possible and the city of Lisbon, which he prayed would “remain in the memory of these young people as a house of fraternity and a city of dreams.”

“And ‘obrigado’ to all of you, dear young people,” he said before praying the Angelus. “God sees all the good you are, and only he knows what he has planted in your heart. Go from here with what God put in your heart.”

The crowd dispersed after Mass, streaming through the streets of Lisbon, filling closed-down highways while waving the flags of the world.