Thousands of Teenagers expected for “Via Lucis” Prayer Service at Rome’s EUR on Friday

The first event to bring together the tens of thousands of teenagers who have arrived in Rome for the Jubilee of Adolescents will be the Via Lucis prayer service presided over by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, at 6pm on Friday, April 25.

The young pilgrims’ meeting point is the steps of the church of Saints Peter and Paul at EUR where they will start gathering at 1pm. The adolescents will take part in the prayer of the “Via Lucis” sharing their thoughts on the influence of the Holy Father, Pope Francis on their lives. Retracing the life of Jesus will help them to pray for Pope Francis in the context of the Resurrection and eternal life.

"The Via Lucis,” explained Don Massimo Tellan, the Rome parish priest who organized the prayer service, “takes up the stages of the Lenten Via Crucis. But given we are in the Easter Season it retraces the meetings of the risen Jesus with the eyewitnesses of the resurrection, from Easter Sunday to Pentecost, in a series of 14 stations".

It is a form of prayer which started back in 1988 within the Salesian family, and was celebrated for the first time in Rome in1990, in the Catacombs of San Callisto. During the Easter octave, the adolescents will be helped to experience the atmosphere of the resurrection through prayer at 7 stations, and not the 14 canonical ones, and for each of the stations there will be the reading of a passage from the Gospel, a choral prayer and a third part recited by two young people.

"This third part,” added Don Massimo, “will be very special. In writing it I thought about what a young person today would ask if they could meet one of the witnesses of the resurrection. Two teenagers will act out the roles. The story is that they were traveling to Rome to experience the Jubilee, but due to an issue with the app, they find themselves catapulted back in time to 2000 years ago, right after the resurrection of Jesus. The two teenagers meet Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint Thomas, Saint John, Saint Peter and many others, who help them find their way back to Rome. Here, the young people discover that the witnesses they meet don’t show them the way back to their own time, but rather help them understand which road leads them home".

Just as the Easter Candle was present next to the Pope's coffin on Wednesday during the transfer of his remains to the Basilica, so the same Candle will be the protagonist of the Via Lucis and seven torches will be lit from its flame.

"For us believers, a funeral is an accompaniment of the person who has died to the Father’s house," said Don Massimo, "and being able to pray with this mindset helps the youngsters see this moment of transition and pain in the context of the Hope that does not disappoint, which is Christ himself."

The event area can be accessed from the end of Viale Santi Pietro e Paolo and from the steps of the Basilica (entrance from Viale Umberto). The parking areas for buses will be in Piazzale Ferruccio Parri, Viale Romolo Murri, Viale Egeo, Viale dei Primati Sportivi and Viale Pasteur. The area will be equipped with large screens, two water distribution points offered by ACEA, toilets and an area for people with disabilities.