During the ITA-Airways papal flight from Rome, the 86-year-old Argentine pontiff joked that he would return from his 42nd Apostolic Journey “more youthful”.
After arriving, Pope Francis was greeted at the National Palace in Belèm by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousahad and took part in a meeting with the country’s civil authorities and diplomatic corps.
“I dream of a Europe, the heart of the West, which employs its immense talents to settling conflicts and lighting lamps of hope,” he said.
“A Europe capable of recovering its youthful heart, looking to the greatness of the whole and beyond its immediate needs; a Europe inclusive of peoples and persons, without chasing after ideologies and forms of ideological colonisation”.
More than 400,000 young people have registered to take part in the 2023 World Youth Day, which runs until Sunday.
The World Youth Day events culminate with Sunday’s concluding Mass in Lisbon’s Tejo Park.
