Young people across globe thank Pope in video

Madrid, Spain, Feb 26, 2013 / 12:08 pm

A group of young people from Madrid have posted a two-minute video online with international messages thanking Pope Benedict XVI for his service to the Church.

"We young people are with you," the video emphasizes to the Pontiff, who will be retiring from his role as Pope at the end of February due to waning strength.

Entitled, "For the 85 year-old young man," the video has already gone viral, receiving more than 50,000 views on YouTube in just five days.

In the video, young people from around the world thank Pope Benedict for his "teachings of reason, faith and humility," as well as for showing them the "tenderness of Christ" and offering a sincere witness of hope, generosity and courage.

They reminded the Holy Father that they are praying for him.

Pablo Larrocha, one of the young people promoting the video, said he got the idea to make it after the Pope announced his resignation. 

"I felt a silence in the Church that I didn't like at all," he said.

The silence was "in a certain sense normal because the news was unexpected," he continued. "But I felt I had to do something so that people could see that the Pope is not alone."

The Pope needed to know "that we young people are at his side, that we continue to be his sons and daughters and that we are going to love him to the end," Larrocha said.

With the help of his friend Chechu Fuentes, he decided to record thirty young people in Madrid, but another friend suggested they also videoconference with young people in different countries. 

"So we clearly realized that this had to be a worldwide expression of thanks," Larrocha continued.

The video features young people from numerous countries including Germany, Romania, France, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Argentina, Slovakia, Australia, Russia, the United States, New Zealand and China.

Chechu García, Miguel del Moral, Bruno Contreras, Iziar Francín, Pilar Muñoz-Elena and Javier Contreras all contributed to creating the video.