From Bloomberg:
Pope Francis invited a crowd of young Catholics gathered in Panama City to follow the footsteps of the Virgin Mary, calling her the biggest “influencer” of all times.
“The young woman of Nazareth didn’t appear in the social networks of the time, she wasn’t an influencer, but without wanting it or seeking it, she became the woman that had the biggest influence in history,” Pope Francis said during a World Youth Day address in Panama City on Saturday.
From Crux Now:
Life, he said, is not “a salvation up ‘in the cloud,’ and waiting to be downloaded, a new ‘app’ to be discovered, or a technique of mental self-improvement,” he said. It’s not a “tutorial” for the latest news either.
“The salvation the Lord offers us is an invitation to be part of a love story interwoven with our personal stories; it is alive and wants to be born in our midst so that we can bear fruit just as we are, wherever we are and with everyone all around us,” Francis said. The Pope’s words came on Saturday evening in Panama, as he led a prayer vigil in the John Paul II field, located some 15 miles from downtown, and to where young pilgrims participating in World Youth Day had to walk as part of this week-long pilgrimage.