Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Before concluding this celebration, I wish to thank all those who prepared and enlivened it with care and devotion.

I extend an affectionate greeting to the elderly and the sick who have followed the Holy Mass on radio and television, as well as to the cloistered communities and those who, for various reasons, were unable to be here and are united to us in spirit.

I remember in particular those who are at the Casa Circondariale of the Torre del Gallo, who have written a beautiful letter to me.

Among those present, on the other hand, I would also like to greet the young people from Pavia and from the neighbouring Dioceses.

Dear boys and girls, I hope that you will increasingly discover the joy of following Jesus and of becoming his friends. It is the joy of Peter and of the other Apostles, of the saints of all the ages.

This joy is also what impelled me to write the book, Jesus of Nazareth, which has just been published. For younger people, it is somewhat demanding, but I present it to you ideally so that it may accompany the journey of faith of the new generations.

Thinking of young people, I am pleased to recall that the Day of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart is being celebrated today in Italy. This is an important event because the Catholic University is a reference point for the Ecclesial Community and makes a valuable scientific, cultural and formative contribution to the entire Nation.

Let us now turn our minds and hearts to the Virgin Mary. To her I entrust the entire Diocese of Pavia, which venerates her in all the shrines and places of prayer. I commend to her motherly protection every individual community, every family, and especially the most trying situations.

May Mary Most Holy obtain peace and comfort for everyone. Let us invoke her, singing together the antiphon of the Easter Season.

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