Fifty young people to head to krakow
Fifty young people from the Meath Diocese will travel to Krakow, Poland, next year, to take part in World Youth Day.
The Diocese of Meath’s preparation for the event was officially launched on Monday of this week by Bishop Michael Smith, who will lead the pilgrimage.
As well as taking part in World Youth Day, the participants will spend four days in the Diocese of PÅock sharing culture and faith with Polish youth, as well as at the popular shrine of Jasna Gora associated with the Icon of the Black Madonna, the Shrine of the Divine Mercy, and the concentration camp of Auschwitz.
Pope Francis has chosen a theme of “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7), highlighting the forthcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy (Dec 2015-Nov 2016).
The World Youth Day events were created by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1983 in response to the need for young Catholics to share, celebrate and witness their faith with their peers. Since then it has been held on most continents, with the last being in South America in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in 2013, the first for Pope Francis.
The event takes place over 5 days (Tues-Sun) culminating in the celebration of an outdoor vigil on Saturday night and Holy Mass on Sunday with the Pope.
During the week, concerts, catechesis, and youth oriented cultural events are mingled with the customary timetable of an opening ceremony, Daily Mass, outdoor Stations of the Cross, reconciliation, and welcoming of the Pope.
The Diocese of Meath has had a presence at the WYD events since Paris in 1997 right up to Brazil 2013. It is recognised as an important occasion for young Catholics to explore and enrich their faith, enabling them to live that faith in a greater way when they return home, through becoming more actively involved in their parish, or choosing a path in life connected more closely with their faith.
Lisa Price, a veteran of two World Youth Days, and involved in the diocesan preparations for the forthcoming one, explains why she is going again “I am looking forward to experiencing and enriching my faith along with other young people and helping others to enliven their faith too”.
• www.facebook.com/dioceseofmeathwyd2016
• meathyouth@gmail.com