In view of the second edition of "Francesco Live", the meeting of young people promoted by the Franciscan Family of Tuscany (Italy), which this year will take place on the 10th May in Florence and will be dedicated to the 800th Anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures, and on the 24th April, the Mayor of Florence, Sara Funaro, met with a small delegation of young people and Friars Minor involved in the event.
It was an opportunity to deliver the two messages - "The dream of Francesco Live" and "Beyond our shadows" - elaborated by the young people who took part in the first edition of Francesco Live in Florence, on the occasion of the eighth centenary of the stigmata of Francis of Assisi.
The two documents, one drawn up by the young participants in the meeting, the other by the young people who took part in the workshops on integral ecology organized by Oikos Mediterraneo, contain their requests, perspectives and dreams, with the hope that they can soon be realized. The Friars Minor, amongst the organizers of the event, say: "Tuscany, with its wealthy background of history, identity, culture, thought, arts, and knowledge, can still today give the country the push for a change of pace on the issues that are most dear to the younger generations and that are the legacy that Pope Francis has handed down to all of us: the care of the common home not only on the environmental front, but also on that of social justice, of the cry of the poor and of the whole earth".
"I receive the letters of these young people with great honour and a sense of responsibility," said Mayor Sara Funaro. "The issues that are posed to us are those that must be most dear to the institutions in a historical phase like the one we are going through: environmental protection, social justice, peace and brotherhood among peoples, attention to the most fragile people, to the last. These are the same issues on which Pope Francis has never ceased to keep attention high during his pontificate, proving how much his message will always be very strong and current and must be carried forward by each of us, at every level".
We are happy to have received the reflections of so many young people who, in the name of St. Francis, have gathered in Florence to address these issues," said the Councilor for youth policies of the Municipality of Florence, Letizia Perini. "Our city has an ancient link with La Verna and its heritage of beauty, spirituality and history. These contributions, which can help us in the choices to be made to administer the common good, have been meditated on and elaborated with hope in our hearts because, as Pope Francis taught us, by training ourselves to recognize hope, we will be amazed at how much good exists in the world."
For more info:
www.vienievedi.net/francesco-live/
