The main objective of the initiative is to prepare the country to live the World Youth Day (WYD), scheduled to take place in Lisbon between August 1st and 6th, 2023.
Newsroom – Portugal – Lisbon (March 3, 2023, 12:45 PM, Gaudium Press) With the objective of preparing the country to live the World Youth Day (WYD), scheduled to take place in Lisbon between August 1 and 6, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) invited all Portuguese dioceses to unite in a Way of the Cross.
Through this initiative, held last Friday, February 24, the COL intended to “mobilize the dioceses of the whole country to live this moment with young people, already thinking of the Way of the Cross that will take place on August 4 with the Pope, but also as a form of preparation and reflection for Easter.”
Pilgrimage of the WYD Symbols
The symbols of WYD are currently in the Archdiocese of Braga, located in northern Portugal. The pilgrimage of the Pilgrim Cross and the Marian Icon ‘Salus Populi Romani’ has been amazing for the organizers.
According to Alberto Gonçalves, executive coordinator of the Diocesan Organizing Committee (COD) of Braga, in an interview with Agencia Eclesia, “we have been surprised by the mass of young people and the entire population that wanted to associate themselves to the symbols and their passage”.
For the Auxiliary Bishop of Braga, Dom Delfim Gomes, this pilgrimage of the WYD symbols in the Archdiocese has been exciting because of the participation of the youth, making it a true breath of fresh air. Next Friday, March 3, the WYD symbols will be delivered to the Diocese of Aveiro.
World Youth Day
Created in 1985 by St. John Paul II, the World Youth Day consists of a meeting of thousands of Catholic youth from various dioceses around the world. These events take place every two to three years, and each time the Pope chooses a new country to host the event.
The first edition took place in 1986, in Rome, and the other editions of WYD have been held in the following cities: Buenos Aires (1987), Santiago de Compostela (1989), Czestochowa (1991), Denver (1993), Manila (1995), Paris (1997), Rome (2000), Toronto (2002), Cologne (2005), Sydney (2008), Madrid (2011), Rio de Janeiro (2013), Krakow (2016) and Panama (2019). (EPC)
Compiled by Zephania Gangl