“Get up! I appoint you as a witness to what you have seen.”

13th Missionary Day

By embracing the new life given to us in Baptism, we also receive a mission from the Lord: "You will be my witness." It is a mission that demands our dedication and transforms our lives.

Today, Christ's invitation to Paul is addressed to each and every one of you young people: Get up! You cannot remain on the ground "lamenting and feeling sorry for yourself"; there is a mission awaiting you! You too can be a witness to the works that Jesus began to perform in you. Therefore, in the name of Christ, I tell you:

– Rise up and bear witness to your experience as a blind man who found the light, saw the goodness and beauty of God in himself, in others, and in the communion of the Church that overcomes all loneliness.

– Rise up and bear witness to the love and respect that can be established in human relationships, in family life, in dialogue between parents and children, between young and old.

– Stand up and defend social justice, truth and righteousness, human rights, the persecuted, the poor and vulnerable, those who have no voice in society, immigrants.

– Rise up and witness the new perspective that allows you to see creation with eyes full of wonder, makes you recognize the Earth as our common home, and gives you the courage to defend integral ecology.

– Rise up and bear witness that failed lives can be rebuilt, that those dead in spirit can be resurrected, that those enslaved can become free again, that hearts oppressed by sorrow can rediscover hope.

– Rise up and joyfully testify that Christ lives! Spread his message of love and salvation among your peers, at school, at university, at work, in the digital world, everywhere.

The Lord, the Church, and the Pope trust in you and appoint you as witnesses to the many other young people you encounter on the "roads to Damascus" of our time. Do not forget: "If a person has truly experienced the saving love of God, they do not need much preparation to go out and proclaim it; they cannot wait for many lessons or lengthy instructions. Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that they have encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus."«

(Pope Francis, message for the year 2021)