Youth Cross Arrives in Rome after 600-Kilometer Pilgrimage
VATICAN CITY, AUGUST 10 (ZENIT.org).- John Paul II is personally following details of the preparation for the World Youth Day, which will be held in Rome from August 15-20. Over one million young people from around the world are expected to attend.
This morning, the Holy Father met with the organizers of this event at his residence in Castel Gandolfo. Those attending the meeting included U.S. Cardinal James Francis Stafford, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity; Polish Bishop Stanislaw Rylko, secretary of that Pontifical Council; Uruguayan Professor Guzman Carriquiry, the Council's assistant secretary; and Italian priest Fr. Renato Boccardo, head of the Youth Office of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
Although the Vatican Press Office did not give details of the meeting, it is known that the Pope wanted to be informed on the way plans are progressing, especially for the Vigil on August 19 and the closing Mass the following day. Last Sunday the Holy Father demonstrated his collaboration with this event by offering hospitality, as many Romans have done, in his pontifical residence at Castel Gandolfo to 15 young people from different parts of the world.
The World Youth Day Cross arrived in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican this morning. John Paul II first gave this Cross to youths in 1994. The cross, which is 4 meters high, had been entrusted to Italian youth by their French counterparts following the 1998 Paris World Youth Day. Over the past two years, the Cross has been taken to all the Italian dioceses. Since July 14, a group of youths have been carrying it on foot for 600 kilometers, over four Italian regions of the "Via Francigena," one of the traditional roads used by European pilgrims in the past to go to Rome. The group started with a total of 20 young people. By the time they arrived in Rome, their number had increased to 200.
Moreover, 170,000 youths have already arrived in Italy to prepare in an assigned diocese for the great encounter with the Pope. On August 15, foreign youths will arrive in Rome accompanied by Italian friends. 1,000 Bosnians are staying in Ancona, 200 Serbs in Fabriano, 300 youngsters from the United Arab Emirates in Orvieto, 753 Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians in Como and Florence, and 60 Cubans have been welcomed by the diocese of Bergamo.
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