Pope Francis braved the heat to speak to over 50,000 altar servers from the International Association of altar boys and girls in St Peter’s Square. The audience had made their pilgrimage from across Europe—mostly from Germany—with their theme “With you.”
“If you minister with an attentive mind, heart and body, like Mary, then the mystery of God who is ‘with you’ gives you the ability to be ‘with others’ in a new way,” Pope Francis said.
The pope also reflected on how this theme can be instrumental in everyday life, through being “with others.”
“You can do so by weeping with those who weep, rejoicing with those who rejoice, without judgement or prejudice, without selfishness and excluding no one,” he said.
“Even with those we might not like; with those different from me; with foreigners; with those whom we feel do not understand us; with those who never come to church; with those who say they do not believe in God.”
The International Association of altar boys and girls says their pilgrimage to Rome is their most important activity and takes place every four to five years.