Istanbul, Turkey, Nov 30, 2014 / 08:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- “Dear young people, do not be discouraged.” Pope Francis made this appeal during an encounter with young refugees in Istanbul, urging them to remember that God never forgets his children.

The Pope met with the refugees in the Salesian Oratory of Istanbul on Nov. 30, the third and final day of his Apostolic Journey to Turkey. The youth refugees taking part in the encounter were predominantly from Africa and the Middle East, especially Syria and Iraq.