He invited any of the young people present considering a priestly or religious vocation to stand or raise their hands to be recognized and applauded. He said those present, including the bishops, would be praying for the many youth who raised their hands.
“Our future religious brothers and sisters, 38%, are here in our midst!” Burns pronounced to the sound of cheers. Most of the bishops seated on the stage gave a standing ovation to the young people in the crowd.
Earlier in the evening, the U.S. bishops’ conference had handed out holy cards with an icon of the face of Jesus and a QR code on the back to be scanned to find out more information about vocations.
More than 28,600 teens and young adults, most between the ages of 18 and 25, and their leaders traveled from across the United States to attend World Youth Day 2023, according to the bishops’ conference.
In addition to numerous priests and religious brothers and sisters, 61 U.S. bishops also traveled to Lisbon, many of whom were present at the Aug. 2 national gathering.
More than 35 bishops from the U.S. are also leading some of WYD’s daily “Rise Up!” sessions Aug. 2–4, which are intended to be conversation-style catechesis.
Bishop Barron, the founder of the Word on Fire ministry, is also the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, which oversees the U.S. involvement in WYD.
In his speech Aug. 2, one of five he has given or will give during the week in Lisbon, he quoted from a homily by St. Paul VI given in Manila, Philippines, during an apostolic visit in November 1970.
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“Jesus Christ: You have heard him spoken of; indeed the greater part of you are already his: You are Christians. So, to you Christians I repeat his name, to everyone I proclaim him: Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega; he is the king of the new world; he is the secret of history; he is the key to our destiny. He is the mediator, the bridge, between heaven and earth. He is more perfectly than anyone else the Son of Man, because he is the Son of God, eternal and infinite. He is the son of Mary, blessed among all women, his mother according to the flesh, and our mother through the sharing in the Spirit of his mystical body,” Barron quoted the late pope.
“Jesus Christ is our constant preaching,” he continued the quotation. “It is his name that we proclaim to the ends of the earth and throughout all ages. Remember, remember, remember this and ponder on it: The pope has come here among you and has proclaimed Jesus Christ!”
“That’s the new evangelization, that’s the pattern, that’s the message,” Barron commented, adding that that is how Jesus wants to be known.
“When you preach the real Christ, not a watered down Christ, it lights a fire in people” and they want to know more, he said.
The bishop noted that another popular value in our culture today is safety. Safety is not a bad thing to consider, but a religion that had its God hang on a cross “is not a religion putting a high priority on safety,” he added to applause.