Posted on 08/17/2005 6:23:02 PM PDT by NYer
Cologne, Aug. 17 (CWNews.com/LifeSiteNews.com) - The 20th World Youth Day (WYD) celebrations, which Pope Benedict XVI will join on Thursday, August 18, already involve 405,000 registered participants. Organizers expect 800,000 or more to attend the final weekend sessions on August 20 and 21 at Marienfeld, outside Cologne.
At the time of the opening ceremonies, 193 different countries were represented at WYD: a record for the event. "The entire world has arrived in Germany," observed Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, who heads youth ministry for the nation's Episcopal conference.
There were 120,000 young people on hand before the opening ceremonies, to participate in preliminary WYD events from August 11 to 15 in German dioceses. Including the families who welcomed visitors, there were 350,000 people involved in these early events: another first for WYD.
But the largest crowds by far are anticipated for Saturday and Sunday, when the WYD participants will gather on the field of Marienfeld, about 18 miles outside Cologne, for an evening prayer vigil, spending Saturday night there before the final closing Mass on Sunday. Pope Benedict XVI will participate in those climactic events, as he makes his first appearance at WYD as Roman Pontiff-- the first Pope other than John Paul II ever involved-- in his own native country.
Among the countries best represented at the ceremonies, Italy takes first place with about 100,000 participants-- ahead of even the host country, Germany, which has 83,000 registered. More than 30,000 from France have already arrived, with another 15,000 expected by the weekend. China is the country with the most surprising representation, with groups from the mainland as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan. The region of the world <i>least</i> represented is Latin America, which accounts for the largest Catholic population in the world, but less than 4 percent of the attendees in Cologne this week.
There are 750 bishops, including 60 cardinals, taking place in this year's WYD, with the highest number again expected at the closing ceremonies. More than 300 of those bishops will offer catechetical instruction during the 3-day period from August 17 through 19, with presentations scheduled in 30 different languages.
There are 9,805 priests already on the scene-- a total far outstripping the organizers' hopes for 5,000. Some 650 are hearing confessions at a "reconciliation center" set up in the center of Cologne. There are also 7,200 journalists accredited to cover the events.
With many different activities planned-- cultural and athletic as well as spiritual and educational-- the costs of WYD are expected to run to nearly 100 million euros ($123 million). Participants bear some of that cost, but events have also been subsidized by corporate and municipal sponsors. Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne has expressed his gratitude to the local and federal government officials whose cooperation has smoothed preparations.
In the last few days before the formal opening ceremonies, a festival atmosphere began to develop in Cologne. Groups of young people sang and exchanged stories in different languages on the city's buses-- which were running on an extended-service schedule for the duration of their stay. Merchants selling religious objects and images did a brisk business near the city's cathedral. The city's streets were dotted with posters bearing the images of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. WYD banners fluttered all around the city.
Bishop Bode confessed that he had "tears in my eyes" when he saw thousands of young people flocking to the cathedral to kneel in venerate before the relics of the Magi.
But even after the opening ceremony, Cologne is still waiting expectantly for the "main event," when Pope Benedict arrives on Thursday. The Pope's first meeting with the young WYD participants will take place that afternoon, when he addresses the crowd from a boat on the Rhine.
Almost 10,000 Catholic priests show up for World Youth Day.....Why does this not suprise me?????
Nothing from GipperGirl today?
What exactly are you insinuating? (as if I had to ask - sarcasm)
I wish I could be there.
How many years in advance did the Vatican pick Cologne for this year's World Youth Day?
Did the officials in the Vatican at that time know that we would have a German pope in 2005 when they picked Cologne, Germany back then?
Probably not, but the Holy Spirit sure did.
I wonder when WYD will be held in South America. I realize security, sanitation, and infrastructure are big issues there, but it would be representative of the Church's population.
Just received a short message and will post it to the forum. She promises a lengthier one later :-)
That is a shameful remark.
Why would you conclude that I meant anything shameful......unless thats what YOU were thinking.....
Get some class, or get lost.
OK Clownboy, rather than suggesting that there is something wrong with smpb, let's hear what YOU were thinking.
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