Do young Catholics care about their faith?
A gathering of about 600, 000 young Catholics across the ditch in Sydney from 15-20 July 2008 should prove they do!!!
World Youth Day was an initiative of Pope John Paul II who was inspired by massive gatherings of young people in Rome celebrating the Youth Jubilee in 1984 and the United Nations International Year of Youth in 1985. He wanted to bring together young Catholics from around the globe to celebrate and learn about their faith on a more regular basis. Pope John Paul II saw WYD as a way to reach out to the next generation of Catholics, to demonstrate confidence in them, to rejuvenate the Church and ensure that the core teachings of Christ are transmitted and lived.
The first World Youth Day was held in Rome in 1986 on Palm Sunday. Each year since, World Youth Day has been celebrated at a Diocesan level on Palm Sunday. Every two to three years, a massive international gathering celebrates WYD in a different 'host city' - Cologne, Buenos Aires, Czestochowa, Paris, Toronto, Manila and Denver have all been hosts. The international World Youth Days are marked by a week-long series of events, attended by the Pope and hundreds of thousands of youth from all over the world. At the conclusion of the XX World Youth Day in Cologne in August 2005, Pope Benedict XVI made the announcement that Sydney was chosen to host the XXIII World Youth Day.
Each World Youth Day has a theme. The theme of WYD08 is Acts 1 v 8 – “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit come upon you, and will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.” This theme also calls upon us in New Zealand to actively pursue our part in this World Youth Day pilgrimage by acting as co-hosts to the Days in the Diocese. These few days prior to World Youth Day allow International Pilgrims the opportunity to experience life as an Australian Catholic and as a Kiwi Catholic! We have the great privilege to allow our entire faith community to experience the joy of WYD08 beyond the pilgrims who will travel to Sydney!
There are four main goals for the host nation in staging the largest event for the Catholic Church in Australia:
- To provide a moving and sanctifying pilgrimage in faith
- To provide the forum for youth to experience the power of the Holy Spirit
- To assist the rediscovery of the centrality of the Word and Sacraments in the lives of the young people
- To enable youth to be witnesses to Christ
There is not likely to be a better, more accessible time for us to experience the full World Youth Day experience. There will be many opportunities for all of our faith communities to get involved in supporting local and international pilgrims in their pilgrimage on a parish and diocesan level. So take heed of our National logo – get connected!