Pope urges Catholics to re-evangelize

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Pilgrims walked on their knees at the Marian shrine of Fatima in central Portugal May 11 prior to the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. The shrine marks the place where three young shepherd children had visions of Mary in 1917. The Holy Father is on a four-day visit to Portugal.

LISBON, Portugal —At a Mass for more than 100,000 people in Portugal, Pope Benedict XVI urged Catholics to re-evangelize society by witnessing the joy and hope of the Gospel in every sector of contemporary life.

"Today's pastoral priority is to make each Christian man and woman a radiant presence of the Gospel perspective in the midst of the world, in the family, in culture, in the economy, in politics," the pope said May 11 at an open-air liturgy in Lisbon, the Portuguese capital.

To evangelize effectively, he said, Catholics themselves need to grow closer to Christ.