The invitation to living a full life, and even strive for holiness. This is the Pope’s message that most impressed the youth gathered at Marienfeld. They followed his word not so much through the translations broadcast by small radios, but in the various languages in which the Pope read his speech. "When man seeks to direct the world and his life by himself says Fernando Zepeda, Mexico, 23 years old he loses himself and the sense of what he does. This was experienced last century but it is also what many people experience today. This is perhaps the part of the Pope’s speech that struck me most. Because many of us have experienced this vacuum and of how difficult it is to fill it. The Pope has indicated in Christ the light of He who alone can lead us to true happiness. I think that when so many young people are willing to listen to someone who says these things, then this means that the Church is still alive, even though many believe the opposite. But most of all it means that God still speaks to young people’s hearts". Thesia and Francisca, German, 17, tell us that they were struck by the part of the Pope’s speech where he referred to the saints. "A saint says Francisca is he who welcomes, for instance, an elderly person in his home or those parents who accept a disabled child with love. We can all be saints". And Jenny Marx (Germany, 16 years old, adds: "A saint is someone who allows God to change his/her life".
