Pope Francis Meets Youth from Scholas Occurrentes and Paints Final Touch to a Nearly 2-Mile Long Mural

On the second day of Pope Francis’ visit to Lisbon for the 2023 World Youth Day, he meets with members of the “Scholas Occurrentes” community at its Portuguese headquarters in Cascais, and puts the finishing touch on a multi-coloured mural symbolising the beauty of unity in diversity. Pope Francis gave the final touch to the Scholas Occurrentes mural that is nearly two miles long. Pope Francis presented the youth an icon of the parable of the Good Samaritan. He then spoke to them about compassion, saying, “sometimes in life you have to get your hands dirty so you don't dirty your heart.”
The Scholas initiative is an educational project created by a decree by the Pope himself. It promotes the collaboration of young people to solve the problems in their cities.

Scholas has over one million participants around the world.
Pope Francis was accompanied by the President of Portugal.

The meeting that featured several testimonies and questions from young students who participated in the construction of a mural over three kilometers long. At the end of the meeting, it was Pope Francis' turn to leave his mark on this mural.

The first to speak to Pope Francis was Aladje Dabo, a young Muslim who is a Scholas student and, as he said, “when the project was presented to me, I had no doubts in accepting it and embracing it”. Because this is “a space where everyone can share their feelings and where everyone belongs, no matter what their beliefs or background,” he added.

Referring to the mural created by more than 200 people, Aladje asked the Pope why the Scholas is a space where it is possible to create a work of art. To this question, Pope Francis replied that the Scholas Occurrentes is a space that “makes this possible, that everyone feels interpreted with respect, but a dynamic respect that leads to action”.

Paulo Esaka da Silva, a young evangelical, recalled the visits to various communities and highlighted the different people and realities they were able to meet, many of them in an atmosphere of “chaos”. According to him, “this gave us the opportunity to deepen the discovery of the true feeling and pain of these people”, revealing that “they touched his heart”. Touched by the realities he witnessed, he asked the Holy Father: “Do the pains of these people form part of our heart?”.

Pope Francis began by putting “chaos” aside, focusing on the “crisis” that each of us experiences in our lives. After explaining the origin of the word “crisis”, the Holy Father reinforced that “a life without crisis is an aseptic life”. “If I offer you distilled water, you won't like it. Despite not having a crisis, it doesn't taste like anything, nobody likes it, "he reinforced.

Mariana Barradas was the last young woman to address Pope Francis. Taking what the Holy Father had just mentioned, Mariana recalled the “chaos” and “crisis” she had already experienced and transferred them to the mural, since this is the representation of the “chaos” and “crises” of the various people who participated in the construction of the mural.

“They just look like random lines, but there comes a point where we distance ourselves and we can see colors, shapes and this shows that we can achieve more than what we can see and feel" Mariana Barradas

“What you said about chaos was very beautiful”, the Holy Father began by replying. “Someone said that human life is about making a cosmos out of chaos,” he continued, “from meaningless to something meaningful and inviting.”

“We all have these moments, moments of chaos. This is where we need personal work and a group like yours. The truth lies in your message and the path you take to deliver it. The path of each one of us seeks to transform chaos into cosmos, " said Pope Francis.

Mariana also offered a brush to the Holy Father, which “symbolizes all those who built this mural”. At the end, Pope Francis was even given a brush, so that he could give the last brush on this mural and thus “take the leap into the virtual world”, reinforced the young woman who presented the moment. The brush with which Pope Francis painted is remotely linked to other countries such as Cape Verde, where young people were able to follow through the virtual world. “Young people want His Holiness to unite the physical world with the virtual world”, they highlighted.
After this moment, Pope Francis also asked all young people: “pray for me and, whoever does not pray, at least send me good energy”. Afterwards, he went to water an olive tree planted to remember this moment, being a Scholas tradition, accompanied by the voice of Cuca Roseta, a Portuguese singer who sang “Aleluia” and “Avé-Maria”.

Sources: https://www.lisboa2023.org/pt/artigo/papa-francisco-deu-ultima-pincelada-em-mural - Vatican News