Pope urges transformative encounter with Jesus

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 29 - It is never too late to let Jesus completely change and transform your life, Pope Francis told Catholic faithful gathered in St Peter's Square for his general audience on Wednesday.
    Continuing his series of catecheses on apostolic zeal, the Pope pointed out how by letting Jesus into his life St Paul became a "new creation".
    "In Paul's case, what changed him was not a mere idea or conviction: it was the encounter with the Risen Lord that transformed his whole being," Francis said.
    After the audience, the Pope remembered "martyred Ukraine" in his greeting to Italian and Polish pilgrims, urging the latter to "continue to support your suffering brothers and sisters of Ukraine".
    Speaking in Spanish, he also prayed for the migrants who died on Tuesday in a fire at a reception centre in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
    "That the Lord will welcome them into his Kingdom and give comfort to their families. Let us pray for them," Francis said.
    Earlier, the Pope entered the square on the open-top pope mobile and invited five children to climb on board as he greeted pilgrims. (ANSA).