Youth event in the Paul VI Hall

There is more to a Synod than just meetings. We get lots of invitations to different events around Rome, although most of these are not officially part of the Synod program. Tonight was different: we were asked to attend a gathering in Paul VI Hall with a large group of young people for a presentation of different witness talks and artistic performances. Of course, this event was part of the official program for the Synod, so you might say they made us an offer they didn't want us to refuse...

Here is a photo to give you a sense of scale:

To be honest, this doesn't really give you a sense of scale, so I also did a video where I pan 360-degrees:

The event kicked off a little after 5 pm when the Pope showed up. It's not my best picture of him, but here he is passing my row to get to his chair (just one more row up).

As I said, it was a night of testimonies and performances, and was thoroughly enjoyable. I found the witness talks particularly touching, as people really shared their joys and struggles. The evening concluded with a talk by Pope Francis, in which he encouraged the Synod fathers present to be attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit as we seek to address the issues presented.