Pope Francis entered St. Peter's Square accompanied by children in the Popemobile and spent his time blessing the little ones. In his catechesis, the pope explained the importance of St. Paul and his example of apostolic zeal. He said that this zeal is like a "shoe" that guides apostles on their journey.
"There is no proclamation without movement, without ‘going out’, without initiative," Pope Francis said. "This means that there is no Christian if he has not started the journey."
The Pope warned the pilgrims against the danger of "misguided zeal." He encouraged them to go out to meet people rather than using social media to spread the Gospel.
"One does not proclaim the Gospel standing still, locked in an office, at one’s desk or at one’s computer, arguing like ‘keyboard warriors’ and replacing the creativity of proclamation with copy-and-paste ideas taken from here and there," he said.
At the end of the audience, Pope Francis had a special greeting for the Polish pilgrims.
"Soon we will celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, instituted by St. John Paul II as willed by the Lord through St. Faustina almost a century ago," the pope said. "Today, as the world is increasingly challenged by war and turns away from God, we still need the Father's mercy."
The Pope said farewell after praying for peace in Ukraine.