Fr Antony from Birr writes:
From the Diocese of Killaloe there are 20 young people going to World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. 7 are from the Brendan
pastoral Area, 2 from Nenagha and other 2 from Cloughjordsn. 2 from Cathedral Ennis. They will be starting on Wednesday early morning 4 am from St.Flannons college collecting rest of the group from Obama plaza. I will be travelling with the Jesus youth International on Monday night. We have other 90 are traveling separately, most of them are from Dublin, Limerick and Galway. But I will be joining with our group from Wednesday Evening. We are all looking forward to see this big event with lot of Enthusiasm and prayers ????.
We will be back on 7th of August, Monday
World Youth Day (WYD) is the gathering of young people from all over the world with the Pope. It is also a pilgrimage, a celebration of youth, an expression of the universal Church and an intense moment of evangelization for the youth world. Although its Catholic identity is clearly evident, WYD opens its doors to everyone, no matter how close to or distant from the Church they are.
It is celebrated at the diocesan level on Palm Sunday, and every two, three or four years as an international gathering in a city chosen by the Pope, with the presence of the Holy Father. It brings together millions of young people to celebrate their faith and sense of belonging to the Church.
Since its first edition in Rome in 1986, World Youth Day has proven to be a laboratory of faith, a place of birth for vocations to marriage and consecrated life, and an instrument for the evangelization and transformation of the Church.
It aims to provide all participants with a universal Church experience, fostering a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. It is a new stimulus to the faith, hope and charity of the entire host country community. With young people as its protagonists, World Youth Day also seeks to promote peace, unity and fraternity among peoples and nations around the world
Theme
«Mary arose and went with haste» (Lk1:39) is the bible quote chosen by Pope
Francis as the motto of the World Youth Day that will be held for the first time in the capital city of Lisbon, Portugal. The biblical phrase (a quote from the Gospel of St. Luke) opens the account of the Visitation (Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth), a biblical episode following the Annunciation (the angel’s announcement to Mary that she would be the mother of the Son of God, and the theme of the last WYD, in Panama).
