The Sovereign of the Vatican City State continued his visit in Brazil and met with the country’s president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and later attended a rally in Sao Paolo.

After a short meeting with the president, Pope Benedict held a speech at the Sao Paolo stadium, where approximately 40,000 young people gathered to listen to the pontiff’s advices. Benedict encouraged the youth to close the gap between them and the Church, break away from "materialism and secularism" and to abstain from premarital sex.

"I send you out on the great mission of evangelizing young men and women who have gone astray in this world, like sheep without a shepherd. Make the family a centre that radiates peace and joy; be promoters of life, from its beginning to its natural end," the Sovereign told the crowd.

Also, Benedict tried to direct the attention of the youth towards world problems like poverty, pollution and other environmental problems.

The pope met with president Lula before the rally in Sao Paolo, but their meeting was described as a “polite visit,” the two leaders simply exchanging a few words. The controversial issue of abortion was not discussed, according to Vera Machado, Brazilian ambassador to the Vatican.

According to the same ambassador, Lula intends to draw a firm line between the church and the state in order to maintain the spiritual side of the religion separated from the lay character of politics.

Friday, the pope will continue his first visit as an official in Brazil with the sanctification of Friar Galvao.