The following is the text of the video message that the Holy Father Francis has sent to the participants in the Meeting of Heads of Youth Pastoral Ministry, organized at the priestly house of Havana, Cuba, by the National Commission of Youth Pastoral Care, presided at by H.E. Msgr. Álvaro Julio Beyra Luarca, bishop of Santísimo Salvador de Bayamo y Manzanillo:

Video Message of the Holy Father

Dear young people,

I encourage you to fall in love with Jesus and to be ever more committed in a concrete way to the service of the Church in this real Cuba of today, without fear of hearing the call of God in the situations that are presented every day. Good patriots, love your land, love your country! Be generous and open your heart to the Lord!

May the next World Youth Day in Panama, and that of Cuba in Santiago not be the end point of the effort you are making, but rather go much further. May you discover that it is an opportunity to deepen one’s faith processes and to build the Cuban Church of today and tomorrow, the Cuban homeland of today and tomorrow; knowing that you are not alone and that we build only out of the concrete community to which we belong, where we commit or lives and carry out our vocation.

I invite you to always move forward: look ahead, love your nation, love Jesus and may Our Lady watch over you. Have courage!