This morning, Pope Francis delivered his first speech in Lisbon as part of World Youth Day (WYD) Lisbon 2023, at the Belém Cultural Centre (CCB).

In this meeting with the President of the Republic, the Authorities, civil society and the Diplomatic Corps, he spoke about current challenges such as migration, the climate crisis, war and the role of young people. Amália Rodrigues, Luís de Camões, Sophia de Mello Bryener and Fernando Pessoa were also mentioned.

Lisbon is the "capital of the world" these days and the place whose border with the ocean sets the tone for the beginning of the speech, because, as the Holy Father says, "it recalls the importance of the whole, of conceiving borders not as limits that separate, but as areas of contact".

Based on this idea, here are six ideas from the message the Pope shared with us:

1. 

I am happy to have come to Lisbon, this city of encounter which embraces many peoples and cultures, and which, in these days, is even more global: in a certain sense, it has become the capital of the world.

2.

The ocean does not merely link peoples and countries, but lands and continents. Lisbon, as an ocean city, thus reminds us of the importance of the whole, to think of borders as places of contact,

3.

I would like to express my gratitude for the hard work and generous efforts shown by Portugal in hosting an event so challenging to organize, yet so rich in hope. As a local saying goes: “In the company of the young, we never grow old”.

4.

The ocean reminds us that human life is meant to be an integrated part of an environment greater than ourselves, one that must be protected and watched over with care and concern for the sake of future generations.

5.

How beautiful it is to realize that we are brothers and sisters and to pursue the common good, leaving behind our conflicts and differing viewpoints! Here too, we can see an example in those young people who, with their pleas for peace and their thirst for life, impel us to break down the walls of separation erected in the name of different opinions and creeds.

6.

I would like to thank and encourage them, and all those in Portuguese society who show concern for others, as well as the local Church, which quietly and unobtrusively does so much good.

This is the first of Pope Francis' five days in Portuguese territory. During these days in Lisbon, "A sea of young people is pouring into this hospitable city", he said.