Pope Francis to devotees at IEC: ‘Go forth as missionaries’

Pope Francis. FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY – Pope Francis on Sunday appealed to Catholics to “go forth as missionaries.”

“We need to go forth as missionaries to bring the message of the Father’s tenderness and  mercy,” the Pope said in a 12-minute video message from Vatican.

The Pope delivered a recorded message before thousands of Catholic devotees at the closing Mass of the 51^st  International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) at the South Road Properties.

“We are called to bring the bond of God’s merciful love to the whole humanity,” the Pope said.

He called on every Catholic to go forth and be missionaries to break the bond of conflict and injustice in humanity, adding that the “world needs reconciliation.”

The Pontiff recalled how the world showed “outpouring solidarity” after supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) devastated the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the Pope also announced that the next IEC would be in Budapest, Hungary in 2020.