As day three of World Youth Day wraps up, joy and happiness overflow in Lisbon, especially for the final event of the day, during which WYD pilgrims finally met with Pope Francis for their first full meeting.
Young people really were the protagonists of this third day of WYD, the first full day of Pope Francis in Lisbon.
Thursday morning, in fact, opened with the first meeting between the Pope and young people, more specifically university students, at the Portuguese Catholic University.
But the real meeting, the one everyone had been waiting for, came in the afternoon, when the Holy Father arrived in the Edward VII Park, where he drove around the crowds of pilgrims.
Then, the official welcome ceremony offered a message of hope, just as the young people had hoped for, all of them, but in a particular way those who sacrificed a lot to be there.