APARECIDA, Brazil -- Comfortable in the presence of Mary and at a shrine that symbolizes one of his most important experiences as a member of the Latin American bishops' council, Pope Francis kicked off five days of intense activity with an act of devotion.
Visiting the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida July 24, the pope entrusted World Youth Day to Mary's maternal protection, but also challenged parents, priests and other adult Catholics to give the young people things that the world, with all its wealth, cannot: faith and values.