"I hear a word ring deep in my heart: thank you. It is God Himself who has impressed it in our hearts and sealed it with this Eucharist, which means precisely ‘thanks’". These are the words of Benedict XVI at Angelus, which was celebrated today in the esplanade of Marienfeld in front of over 800 thousand young people who flocked in for the Vigil and the closing Mass of the XX WYD. The Pope, after thanking the organisers of the WYD, added: "Dear boys and girls, the word of gratitude, which is born of faith, expresses itself in the song of the praise to Him, who gave us one further proof of His immense love… May the light of Christ that you have followed to come to Cologne now shine brighter and stronger in your lives". To close the prayer, the Pope said his farewells to the pilgrims in different languages: "Keep adoring Christ in your hearts", he said to the Spanish-speaking pilgrims; "Bring to everyone the joy of Christ that you have found here", was the urge to the Italians; to the French-speaking pilgrims, the wish "to go back home, like the three Wise Men, bringing with you the joy of having found Christ", while to the English-speaking young the wish "May the light of Christ shine brighter in your lives". Farewells to the Poles too: "Keep alive the flame of faith"; to the Portuguese: "Always live in friendship with Jesus"; to the Filipinos: "Go back home, bringing in your hearts the light of the love of Christ". And farewells in Swahili too for the young Africans: "Bring into your big, beloved continent the hope that Christ gave you. Be sowers of peace and fraternity everywhere". The last thanks went to the young Germans: "Thank you for the love with which you have supported me over these days. Be close to me in prayer. Walk together. Be always faithful to Christ and to the Church".
