More than 600,000 pilgrims have registered up to this Saturday for World Youth Day (WYD), which takes place from 1 to 6 August in Lisbon, said the President of the WYD Foundation.
“During the first phase, over 600,000 young people expressed their interest in participating in this journey. There is a path from this first stage to others, but this is a very significant number compared to other journeys,” said Americo Aguiar. , during a visit to the headquarters of the WYD Foundation in Lisbon, the Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa.
In a short speech before visiting the sites, the Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon said that “almost every country in the world” is represented in this group of subscribers.
Eighty days before the start of the global meeting, which will be attended by Pope Francis, Américo Aguiar asked for the trust of the organization and assured that everything was being done “within the calendar.”
The President of the WYD Foundation also said that one should not “lose too much time”, given that there are still about two and a half months ahead, feeling “a mixture of joy and sadness”.
Antonio Costa was accompanied by Health Ministers Manuel Pizarro, Interior Minister José Luis Carneiro and Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Ana Catarina Méndez, who is responsible for organizing the world meeting.
The visit was also attended by the government-appointed coordinator of the WYD, José Sa Fernández, and the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, Manuel Clemente.
Lisbon has been chosen by Pope Francis for the next World Youth Day, which will take place from 1 to 6 August, with the main ceremonies taking place in Tagus Park, north of the Parc des Nations, on the banks of the river. Tagus, on the lands of the municipalities of Lisbon and Loures.
WYD was born at the initiative of Pope John Paul II after the success of the meeting organized in 1985 in Rome as part of the International Year of Youth.
The first edition took place in 1986 in Rome, having already passed through 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).
This year’s edition, which will be closed by the Pope, was originally scheduled for 2022 but was delayed due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Pope Francis was the first to register for WMJLisboa2023 on October 23, 2022 at the Vatican after the Angelus celebration. This gesture marked the worldwide opening of registration for the World Youth Meeting with the Pope.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.