Scouts will be responsible for the reception and “registration” of pilgrims in Lisbon.

The Corpo Nacional de Escutas (CNE) will be responsible for the reception and “registration” of pilgrims and volunteers during World Youth Day (WYD), during which it will also host a number of side events.

“We will be responsible for the reception and registration of pilgrims and volunteers in Lisbon, but we also have a number of events planned that we intend to organize in parallel,” Raquel Kritinas, WYD coordinator for CNE, told Lusa.

The official highlighted the fact that the CNE, which is celebrating its centenary this year, is “dedicated to the pastoral issue” and wants to show that the organization “is not only a ministry movement, but also has a pastoral and evangelistic component.”

Scout participation in the WYD, which will be held in Lisbon from 1 to 6 August, takes place at different levels, as explained by the coordinator, recalling that CNE is involved through local groups, “in the preparation of diocesan days and reception in parishes”, as part of the Diocesan Organizing Committee (COD ) and the Parish Organizing Committee (CPC).

Raquel Kritinas mentioned that CNE “currently has about 200 volunteers for major events and this number will increase until the event itself”, but recalls that many are involved in WYD-related volunteer work in parishes and priests’ houses.

“The truth is that there will always be far more of us than the volunteers that will be in central services, because there are also scouts involved in other areas, such as health, as well as in the teams of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for which they were invited individually,” he said.

During WYD, CNE planned several events, including a Scout Eucharist open to all Scouts whether or not they participate in the main events, which Raquel Critinas envisioned as “a moment of fellowship and celebration that will also mark the centenary of the movement in Portugal” .

CNE is also preparing a pitch for foreign Scouts who will travel to Lisbon, which will be installed in the National Scout Park of Capariki (PNEC), owned by the Association of Scouts of Portugal (AEP), a movement open to all faiths. and beliefs.

According to Raquel Kritinas, “CNE is also planning to host an urban game in which it intends to present the city of Lisbon and an interactive exhibition, and is also in charge of the chapel where the Virgin will be, which intends to be the place for the promise of peace.”

“Even before WYD, between July 27 and 31, we will make a pilgrimage during which the image of the Pilgrimage Virgin of Fatima will be delivered to Lisbon. The route is still being studied, but it will come from Vila Franca de Xira by sea,” he explained.

CNE, which, like AEP, is part of the Scout Federation of Portugal, has 70,000 members throughout the country, including about 22,000 over 18s (about 14,000 adult animators and eight thousand tourists).

In Lisbon, the main WYD ceremonies, initiated by Pope John Paul II, will take place in the Tagus Park, north of the Parque des Nations, on the banks of the Tagus River, in the municipalities of Lisbon and Loures.

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.