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UNIV Audience with the Pope

On April 4, Benedict XVI received the university students in Rome who were taking part in the UNIV 2012 Forum, during a general audience with thousands of other pilgrims.

The Pope reminded them of St. Josemaría’s words: “Everything that is done out of Love acquires greatness and beauty” (The Way, no. 429). And he added: “My dear friends, you have come to Rome to live an experience of faith during Holy Week, an experience of friendship and spiritual enrichment. I invite you to dedicate these days to deepening your knowledge of Jesus, responding to the call of love that he is addressing to each one of you.”

At the conclusion of the audience, Professor Stefan Mückl from the University of Freiburg, president of UNIV 2012, gave the Holy Father a letter in which the students thanked him for his recent pastoral trip to Mexico and Cuba.

“Hundreds of thousands of young people have come to be with you,” the text of the letter reads, “and one could say that we are surprised to realize that we are not just a few, that we can count on the help of many of our own age and with the support of this common father of ours who is the Pope. With you, we are beginning to prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming Latin American rendezvous: World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.”

The UNIV Forum gathers thousands of university students from all over the world each year in Rome. The 2012 gathering was the 45th in the series, and had as its topic “The power of beauty.” Speakers included the musician Ennio Morricone, the Japanese artist Etsuro Sotoo, who has been working for years on finishing the Basilica of the Holy Family in Barcelona, and the American writer and theologian Scott Hahn.

Romana, n. 54, January-June 2012, p. 129.

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