"Following the star"” “

Preparations are in full swing for the 20th World Youth Day (WYD) to be held in Cologne in 2005 (see also page 1). More particularly, the days of meeting and preparation in the German dioceses will take place from 11 to 15 August 2005, while the real culmination of WYD is planned from 16 to 21 August 2005. The organizational machinery that will (according to the latest estimates) bring an estimated 800,000 plus youngsters to the German city is beginning to move into top gear. We present below some projects that are helping to prepare the way for the great event in August 2005 and also some moments of reflection on the youth world today and the ministry connected with it. France: “with the young who commit themselves”. Invited by Msgr. Claude Schockert, chairman of the episcopal committee for childhood and youth of the French Bishops’ Conference, over 200 diocesan coordinators of the youth ministry, and representatives of the movements, congregations and communities, met at Saint Sebastien (Loire) from 28 to 30 November for the 3rd national session of youth apostolate. Theme of the meeting “With the youth who commit themselves”: the invitation has prompted the French Ministry of Education to call a social campaign in schools “Wish to act”. The participants debated the various types of commitment, not only within the Church, proposed by the reports of the sociologist Robert Rochefort and Father Paul Legavre. Switzerland: ‘tour’ of the WYD Cross. The World Youth Day Cross is to tour Switzerland from 20 December 2003 to 8 January 2004. On its arrival from Holland, where it now is, the Cross, together with an icon of the Virgin Mary, will be officially handed over to Swiss youth at Lugano on 20 December. There, a prayer vigil will be held in the presence also of Dutch youth. In its pilgrimage the Cross will pass through the Italian canton (20/25 December), German-speaking Switzerland (26/31), and then remain in Suisse Romande from 1 to 8 January 2004. In its long journey it will be accompanied by a group of youngsters who will be given accommodation by various families. On 8 January a Swiss delegation will travel to London to hand over the Cross and the icon to English youth. Germany: “following the star”. The various local Churches are promoting numerous spiritual events in preparation for WYD throughout Germany. The programme of events in the archdiocese of Cologne is particularly packed with events in the run up to Christmas. A prayer day, conceived as a spiritual stage towards WYD, will be held in the basilica of the Holy Apostles on 6 December. A series of prayer programmes on radio with the title “With the three Magi on their way from the East”, prepared by Msgr. Heiner Koch, general secretary of the 20th WYD, are now being broadcast on Westdeutsche Rundfunk (from 1st to 6 December). The Centre of Youth Formation in Marienburg, in the diocese of Trier, is staging a musical called “Euregio”; at the centre of the plot is the theme of WYD, “We’ve come to worship him”. A tent city overlooking the Rhine: that’s the project devised by the Jesuits, who in the days preceding WYD are organizing an international pilgrimage in the towns of Limburg. It is expected that the event, with the title “Magis: Ignatian experiments for WYD 2005”, will be attended by over 3,000 youngsters. Social involvement, prayer and community celebrations are at the centre of the programme. Italy: a delegation leaving for Cologne. A “mission” to forge the first contacts with Cologne: that’s the objective of the delegation led by Father Paolo Giulietti, head of the National Youth Ministry Service, that will visit the German city from 9 to 12 December. A series of meetings with WYD representatives and with some Italian immigrant communities are planned.