Pope Francis has advised young students to spend time and have interaction with their parents and grandparents and not spending the entire day playing with phone and ignoring the world around them.

“The elderly help us to appreciate the continuity of the generations. They bring with them memory and the wisdom of experience, which help us to avoid the repetition of past mistakes,” he told some 8,000 students at Notre Dame College in Dhaka today.

On the last day of his three-day visit to Bangladesh, the second leg of his Asia tour after Myanmar, the pontiff said the elderly have the “charism of bridging the gap” through which they ensure that the most important values are passed down to their children and grandchildren.

Pope arrived in the huge gathering of the students of various faiths and moved on a trolley through the young crowd and shook hands with some of those, while others kept cheering.

The youth gathering began with musical dance praising the youths and prayer for peace and harmony.

Pope began his speech, appreciating the spirit of the youths and recalling the words of Bangladesh’s National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, who referred to the youth of the country as “fearless”.

He said young people are always ready to move forward and to make things happen and to take risks.

“Keep moving, especially in those moments when you feel weighed down by problems and sadness, and when you look out and God seems to be nowhere on the horizon.”

“But as you move forward, make sure that you choose the right path. What does this mean? It means “journeying” through life, and not ‘wandering aimlessly’.”

Pope Francis, who is already popular for his liberal stance, has asked the youths to know how to welcome and accept those who act and think differently than ourselves.

“It is sad when we start to shut ourselves up in our little world and become inward-looking. We use the “my way or the highway” principle, and we become trapped, self-enclosed,” he said.

When a people, a religion or a society turns into a “little world”, they lose the best that they have and plunge into a self-righteous mentality of “I am good and you are bad”, Pope Francis added.

He said he was happy that students of other faiths joined the gathering with the Catholics, which showed their determination to foster an environment of harmony, of reaching out to others, regardless of religious differences.

Pope addressed the youths as young friends and said he was filled with joy and hope as he looked at their faces.

This is “joy and hope for you, for your country, for the Church and for your communities. May God’s wisdom continue to inspire your efforts to grow in love, fraternity and goodness,” he said before he left the venue.

He assured the youths of his prayers that all of them may continue to grow in love of God and neighbour.

“God bless Bangladesh!” he said in Bangla.

Sajid Shahriar, first year student of Notre Dame College, said he was very pleased to see the pope and inspired by his words.

“There is so much violence in various corners of the world. We can forget our communal thoughts and work together for our country, for peace,” he told The Daily Star.

Irina Sharmin of Holy Cross College said she was particularly encouraged by the words that the youths should keep moving, despite challenges, to work towards humanity.

Shuvo Costa of Tejgaon College said he would spend more time with his parents as advised by the pope.