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Pope Francis dialogue with children on the occasion of the “World Meeting on Human Fraternity:
New Synod Hall – Saturday, 11 May 2024
#Be Human” at the table “Children: Generation Future”
Dear boys and girls, Thank you for coming: good afternoon!
I also thank the Commander [Aldo Cagnoli] who started this: he had a good take-off, congratulations! And now I’m going to ask a question, let’s see who is the bravest to answer.
What is happiness? You, come on, strong… He’s thinking… You, you tell me.
Child I love you so much!
Girl For me, happiness in the world is being all united, being one family, God’s family.
Child For me, happiness in the world is peace.
Pope Francis Ah, well! Another that means… A few brave people raise their hands…
Girl I love you, Father!
Pope Francis But how do you do it, happiness? Where do you buy it, how do you do it? Come on…
Child Making peace.
Pope Francis Making peace. But I asked a question: where do you buy happiness?
Girl It’s an emotion you feel when you try something you like.
Pope Francis Something you like, okay…
Child Happiness cannot be bought: it comes from us.
Pope Francis Bravo, bravo! He gave a nice answer: I asked where happiness is bought, and he said “happiness cannot be bought”. Is this true?
Children Yes!
Pope Francis But if happiness can’t be bought, how can I be happy?
Child When everyone is well.
Pope Francis Well: when everyone is well, it’s an extra part.
Child Like a sweet gift, something…
Pope Francis All right. Another answer? There are many…
Girl When we make peace.
Pope Francis When we make peace, we are happy. There, on that side…
Child With kind words.
Pope Francis Ah, but that’s good. And tell me something, you: if one insults another, can he be happy?
Child No.
Pope Francis I ask all of you: if one insults another, can he be happy?
Children No!
Child By being together.
Pope Francis Being together: this is true, because being friends, playing together, studying together gives us the happiness of the community.
Child By being in contact with God.
Pope Francis Ah, bravo. Let’s hear this: He said one thing, that we can be happy by being in contact with God. Is this true or not?
Children Yes!
Pope Francis Are you convinced?
Children Yes!
Pope Francis Now I am going to ask a very difficult question, listen carefully: how can one be in contact with God? You, come on, yes, you…
Child Pray every day.
Pope Francis Pray every day. I ask you and another here…
Girl Loving.
Pope Francis Loving. And by arguing with each other, will we be happy?
Children No!
Pope Francis It’s true? And a question: have you heard today that there is so much war in the world, in war, is there happiness?
Children No!
Pope Francis Where is the happiness?
Children In peace.
Pope Francis I didn’t hear right…
Children In peace!
Pope Francis Bravi, bravi…
Girl Peace can also be found by praying for an end to war.
Pope Francis Praying for an end to the war. You know that there are children who are at war, do you know this?
Children Yes!
Pope Francis Those children, sometimes, don’t have anything to eat, they’re afraid of bombs, of bad things… But if one child is on this side of the war, and another on this side of the war – listen to the question – are they enemies?
Children No!
Pope Francis This is the difficult question: why are they not enemies?
Children Because it’s not their fault that there’s war.
Pope Francis It is not their fault that there is war.
Child Because they’re all one family.
Pope Francis All the children are all a family. All right. What about you? Strong…
Child In order not to wage war, you must share peace with love…
Pope Francis With love. All right.
Presenter Holy Father, we have a child who wrote a question: Can I?
Pope Francis Come on…
Child I would like to ask you to say a prayer for my grandmother.
Pope Francis She asked – or he, I don’t see it well – he asked for a prayer for his grandmother. Let me ask a question: do you have grandparents?
Children Yes!
Pope Francis Do you have a grandmother and do you have a grandfather?
Children Yes / No
Pope Francis Now let’s do one thing: all together, in silence, let’s pray a Hail Mary for our grandparents. All right? […] Long live grandparents!
Presenter Are there any other written questions that you have prepared? You…
Child How do you become friends?
Pope Francis First of all, think well of others. What’s the first thing to become friends like? [all: “Think well of others.”] If one thinks ill of the other, can he be a friend?
Children No!
Pope Francis No, really. I thank you so much for that. I don’t want to bore you with questions. Thank you so much for what you do. Courage and forward. All together we say: courage and forward!
Children Courage and onward!
Pope Francis I don’t hear!
Children Courage and onward!
Pope Francis Thank you very much, thank you, thank you.
Presenter Holy Father, one last question: why children? Why this Day? There are so many topical issues, why did you insist so much on World Children’s Day? Because? How did this come about?
Pope Francis One thinks that the future of humanity lies in adults who can do this, that, that…
But this is not the case. The future of humanity is in both places: it is in children and in the elderly. When children meet with grandparents. And this is a beautiful thing, and we have to take care of the elderly, the grandparents and the children. And this will be the future, because grandparents give wisdom to us, and children learn the wisdom of grandparents.
Grandparents have a whole past that gives us so much,
children have a future that they receive from the past.
And that’s why I think it’s very important to help children grow, to develop.
But there’s one more thing.
Once, I read a spiritual writer who said that he wanted to be in God’s arms like a child in his mother’s arms.
I’m looking at this child (in its mother’s arms): this child doesn’t defend himself,
this child is sleeping, this child is safe because he’s in his mother’s arms.
We, with God, must be like this: safe in God’s arms like a child in its mother’s arms.
Let’s see if we have understood: how are we to be with God?
Children Like a baby in its mother’s arms.
Pope Francis I didn’t quite understand…
Children Like a baby in its mother’s arms.
Pope Francis Don’t forget this. With God, to be like a child in its mother’s arms.
And look at this child, how beautiful: he sleeps, safely, without anxiety, because he has security.
Take a good look at it… A round of applause for this child!
And thank you so much for all this; thanks to all of you, thanks to the Commander. And now we hope it will lead us to a good landing and so we can continue. Thank you.
[Signing of the “Declaration of the Fraternity of Children”]
Now we can finish and I give my blessing to everyone.
[Blessing]
Thank you very much and see you soon.
