Scottish Catholic Observer

St. John Paul II’s former secretary urged young Catholics to spread a ‘message of divine mercy’ worldwide at the opening Mass of World Youth day last night.

“We come from every nation under heaven, like those who came in great numbers to Jerusalem on Pentecost Day, but there are incomparably more of us now than 2,000 years ago, because we are accompanied by centuries of preaching the Gospel,” Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow said. “We bring experience of various cultures, traditions and languages. But what we also bring are testimonies of faith and holiness of our brothers and sisters, followers of the risen Lord, of past generations as well as the current generation.”

The cardinal preached to an estimated 200,000 pilgrims from 187 countries in Krakow’s Blonia Park, a day before the scheduled arrival of Pope Francis.

He said a special clock had been fitted to the front of the city’s cathedral, ‘counting the days, hours, minutes and seconds’, since 2013, when the city was announced as the venue for World Youth Day this year.

He added that Krakow was the city from where St. John Paul ‘set off to preach the Gospel’, as well as where St. Faustina Kowalska helped spread devotion to Divine Mercy worldwide in the 20th century.

“You have come from all continents and nations, from the East and West, North and South of our globe,” Cardinal Dziwisz, who was personal secretary to St. John Paul for 39 years, said. “You bring with you many experiences. You bring many desires. You speak numerous languages. But starting today, we are going to communicate with each other in the language of the Gospel — a language of love, brotherhood, solidarity and peace.”

PIC: Paul McSherry