ASSISI, ITALY — On Sunday, July 27th, 2025, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, participated in a press conference for the official presentation of the exhibition entitled “I, Brother Francis. 800 Years of a Great Adventure.” He also presided over Mass for the youth of Cyprus, who traveled with Msgr. Bruno Varriano, Patriarchal Vicar of Cyprus, and Fr. Theodorus Beta, parish priest of Nicosia, to take part in the Youth Jubilee held in the Vatican from July 28th to August 3rd.
The exhibition, titled “In Desert Places We Will Build with New Bricks,” took place at the Auditorium of the Domus Pacis in Santa Maria degli Angeli (Assisi), a place deeply associated with Saint Francis. It serves as a profound invitation to live the present with renewed awareness. Through an immersive narrative journey, the exhibition invites visitors to rediscover the saint’s Testament through a contemporary lens.
The Seraphic Province, which curated the project, stated: “We didn’t just want to put on an event—we want to pass on a living legacy.” Speakers reflected on the life of St. Francis and the profound spirituality he imparted across generations, urging the audience to “interpret today’s life with evangelical eyes,” to focus on life’s fundamentals, and to renew the invitation to walk in the footsteps of Christ.
One of the speakers, the Provincial Minister, said that St. Francis great gift to the Church was "to restore the life of Jesus in the form of community". And that their goal behind this exhibition is "to reawaken our baptismal vocation and inspire a new path of witness and unity in the Church.”
In his address, Cardinal Pizzaballa reflected on the challenges faced by Christians in the Holy Land, especially the suffering of the community in Gaza:
“We live in dramatically complex times : wars, social imbalances, crises of international institutions, and violence that seems the only way to assert power. In this context, Saint Francis remains a universal reference , loved by all despite having built nothing or solved concrete problems. Yet, he left a profound mark because he lived the Gospel with radicality and meekness. ' The meek shall inherit the earth ' is not a spiritual symbol: it means that it is the meek—the simple, the small—who truly leave a legacy. We are not the fruit of the choices of the powerful, but of the hidden work of many meek, who build the world with love, beauty, and relationships. Francis was one of them , and he teaches us that following Christ without compromise is still possible—even if the world doesn't understand, even if it is difficult.”
Reflecting on his recent pastoral visit to Gaza, Cardinal Pizzaballa spoke of the immense suffering he witnessed: widespread destruction, severe hunger, the collapse of the healthcare system, and children left without schools. Yet, amid the devastation, he shared powerful signs of hope—people risking their lives to help others, wounded children speaking of being saved by Jesus, and families sharing the little they have. He emphasized that peace will not come through violence or political decisions, but through the courage to recognize one another as brothers. “Our task is not to let pain fill our hearts , but to keep hope alive through concrete gestures of humanity . This is what truly matters, and this is what will save us”
Bernhard Scholz, President of the Meeting Foundation, concluded the press conference by highlighting the exhibition’s central message: to rediscover the why behind our actions.
Mass with the Youth: “Prayer Doesn’t Change the World—Changed Hearts Do”
On the same day, at the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels, Cardinal Pizzaballa celebrated Mass with the young people of Cyprus, along with members of the Catholic Maronite Youth Group of Nicosia. Msgr. Bruno Varriano and several accompanying priests concelebrated the Mass.
In his homily, Cardinal Pizzaballa offered a profound reflection on prayer, drawn from the Gospel readings.
“Prayer is not simply formulas or emotions, but a journey, a work of inner transformation—allowing God to enter our home, like the friend in the Gospel,” he said.
He emphasized that true prayer involves trust, friendship, and a readiness to present both our own needs and those of others before God. “Prayer does not change the world,” he noted. “It changes hearts, and changed hearts can change the world.”
Speaking about the suffering in the Holy Land, he added:
“If prayer had truly entered our hearts, perhaps we would not be living what we are currently experiencing.”
He concluded by urging the faithful to bring both their personal hunger and the hunger of others to God, rediscovering the meaning of shared bread, as both physical sustenance and spiritual life.
