"Blessed are the merciful" is the motto of World Youth Day 2016. Pope Francis has added further significance to this motto by proclaiming the Holy Year of Mercy
WYD will be the high point of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. It is a great gift for young people to experience the Jubilee in the capital of the devotion of Divine Mercy, fixing their gaze on the image of the Merciful Jesus in Lagiewniki, Krakow. The Pope himself has prepared young people for this meeting, when, in Rio de Janeiro, in 2013, he invited them to read again the beatitudes. And then he gave them concrete indications in his later statements - blessed are the poor, blessed are the pure in heart.
The Pope tells young people: "Have the courage to swim against the tide. Dare to be happy." The Beatitudes, among them the one that will bring young people together in Krakow, are a formula for a life that is full of meaning.
Not surprisingly, the venue for the final celebrations is called "Campus Misericordiae".
"Campus" means field, the field cultivated by our merciful God, that is, the hearts of the young. But "campus" also means a university structure, the place where young people learn knowledge and wisdom based on the immutable values of truth and goodness. Here the young people "learn" at the school of mercy, experiencing and sharing this experience with their brothers and sisters.
You said that Krakow can "give a lot" to WYD participants. Can you explain better?
Krakow has a lot to offer, it is called the Capital of Mercy. Here, in Lagiewniki, is the place of the revelations of Saint Faustina Kowalska, a place where pilgrims come from all over the world. But Krakow has been for many centuries the capital of mercy towards our neighbour. This is reflected in its hospitals, homes for the terminally ill, for single mothers, kitchens for the poor, homeless shelters, and so on. Many of these works were founded by citizens of Krakow who today are revered as saints or blessed, like St John Paul II. The young people who participate in WYD will have a chance to touch the living traces of his presence and it will surely be an amazing experience.
