As always meeting the young is a moment of joy for John Paul II. The audience with the participants at the 10th Symposium of European bishops on 25 April was no exception. The symposium was attended by 34 young delegates representing all the Episcopal Conferences of Europe and some movements and associations, as well as 11 young journalists from various European countries. At the end of the official addresses, the young delegates gathered round the Holy Father for a photo souvenir in the Clementine Hall in the Vatican and repeated his name while clapping their hands in unison. So much affection brought a smile to the tired face of John Paul II, who profited from a pause in the audience to ask them to sing “Emmanuel”, the hymn of World Youth Day 2000 in Rome. The Holy Father followed the hymn sung by the young choir closely and then, in saying goodbye to them, urged them in Latin to “rejoice because we’re young”.
