Dear Pope Francis, Congratulations and God’s rich blessing on 12 years of pontificate!

You encouraged us in your foreword to the YOUCAT Bible

to read the Holy Scriptures as the living Word of God and to trust it with the power to change us and our lives. You gave us the following tip: ‘Ask yourselves: ’What does it say to my heart? Is God speaking to me through this passage? Is he touching me in the depths of my yearning? What must I do?’ Only in that way can the Word of God display its power. Only then can our lives change and become great and beautiful.’

You challenged us in your foreword to the DOCAT

to repent in our hearts to truly change the world; ‘Dear young friends! Only conversion of heart can make our world, which is full of terror and violence, more humane. And that means patience, justice, prudence, dialogue, integrity, solidarity with victims, the needy, and the poorest, limitless dedication, love even unto death for the sake of the other.’ You have made it clear to us: through forgiveness and reconciliation, we can become bridge-builders amid conflict and division.

You reinforced us to encounter the merciful God

Anyone who knows you knows how important it is for you to speak of God’s mercy. You want to encourage others to look for it because it has played such a big role in your own life. Your remark that ‘the confessional must not be a torture chamber’ (EG 44) has become famous. It is important to you to break down the fears and barriers that stand in the way of an encounter with the merciful Father, especially among young people.

You urged us in the new foreword to our YOUCAT

to live in close relationship with Jesus Christ and to ask ourselves what Jesus would do in our place.‘This is the password for a truly ‘living’ and joyful life: to look at and judge what happens to us and the decisions we have to make with the same eyes, the same feelings, and the same attitude that Jesus embodied.’ Living life in a deep relationship with Jesus and living the faith courageously is important to experience the joy of the Gospel and proclaim it in the world.

Thank You!

Dear Pope Francis, as in previous years, we stand firmly by your side. As the YOUCAT Foundation, we want to live out our mission in the Church and be a support to you – in prayer, in our commitment to the new evangelization, and in our faithfulness to what you exemplify to us as a shepherd. We wish you much strength and all the best in these difficult days. We pray with and for you so that this time of Lent may lead to the glory of the resurrection.