Some 50,000 children hailing from several countries around the globe gathered in Rome’s Olympic Stadium on May 25 to meet Pope Francis and reflect with him on their importance in the world’s future, as part of the first ever World Children’s Day (WCD). Peace was the main theme of the event.
The Pope addressed the young lively audience with a brief introductory speech in which he called for responses from the children. He opened his address by noting that in children “everything speaks of life and the future”, and by reaffirming that the Church, “as a mother”, welcomes them and accompanies them “with tenderness and hope.
He explained that he was inspired to convene the World Children’s Day by the meeting he held with children in the Vatican on November 7 on the theme “Let’s Learn from Boys and Girls.” “I realized that our conversation had to continue and extend to more children and young people,” he said.
The Pope then engaged in a series of questions with the children, starting from the many wars raging in several parts of the world. “Are you sad about the wars?”, “Is war a nice thing?”; “Is peace beautiful?” he asked, inviting the young audience to pray for children who suffer from wars, cannot go to school, are hungry, or neglected.
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