Pope Francis signed a rag ball and watered an olive tree today in Cascais, in the Lisbon district, symbols of the Scholas Occurrentes institution, which he founded more than 20 years ago in Buenos Aires.
A volunteer of the institution explained to Lusa that the rag ball represents a return to the origins, to street children, who are at the center of the Scholas Occurrentes project, which promotes education for citizenship and inclusion.
The ball was made with the cloths used by some of the 3,000 people who, over the past three months, painted a 3.5-kilometer mural that the Pope walked today and on which he also left his mark.
The olive tree, symbol of peace, is represented in the Scholas logo and is planted whenever a headquarters is opened in the world.
In Cascais, the olive tree is in the courtyard of the former Conde Ferreira school, headquarters of Scholas Portugal since its creation in 2019.
After walking the 3.5 kilometers of the mural placed along the road, where he was greeted by thousands of people who waved as he passed, the Pope arrived at 10:40 at the headquarters of the institution in Cascais.
Received by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the Mayor of Cascais, Carlos Carreiras, Francisco was welcomed by Scholas volunteers in a room where all the walls and the ceiling were covered by a colorful mural painted by young people.
Inside, the Pope made the last stroke of the mural, an open green circle, using a brush connected to virtual reality to start a new digital work and bring together the different communities of the Scholas from around the world.
About the painting in the room, he declared: “It is a Sistine Chapel painted by you”.
Pope Francis told the young people representing the Scholas from around the world that a life without crises is aseptic and tasteless, and that only together can these crises be overcome.
After listening to testimonies from young people, including a Muslim from Guinea-Bissau, Francis stressed that “we have to take on the crises and resolve them”, which is done “rarely alone”.
Just over half an hour after arriving, the Pope left to the sound of the song Recado, sung by the fado singer Cuca Roseta.
Francis arrived in Portugal on Wednesday and is staying until Sunday as part of World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon.
More than a million people are expected in Lisbon for this WYD, considered the biggest event of the Catholic Church.
