The joy of being there

The meeting of the Agorà of Italian youth with Benedict XVI is taking place in Loreto, from August 29th to September 2nd. Apart from Italian youth, 800 young people from 50 countries of Europe and the Mediterranean are expected at the meeting with the Pope. Their presence will be an invitation to debate and exchange of experiences, as well as a chance to establish relationships which may last after Loreto, too. The Polish are the majority (100 delegates), followed by the young from France, Spain, Croatia, Hungary, Greece, Russia, Portugal and Slovenia. However, in the Piana di Montorso, the place of the wake and the Mass with the Pope (September 1st and 2nd), there will also be the flags of England, Denmark, Czech Republic, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Holland, Austria, Switzerland, and Ukraine. In smaller numbers, there will also be young people from Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Syria, and Turkey. However, the presence of the latest will be highly meaningful. Lots of foreign delegates will be hosted in the dioceses of San Marino, Ancona, Macerata, Foligno, Imola, and Teramo. The latest will host the delegation of Australia, where the WYD is going to take place in Sidney, from July 15th to 20th, 2008. SIR has collected a few thoughts of young Europeans bound for Loreto. BULGARIA. According to Bulgarian IAVOR GENOV , 20, from the parish “Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary” in Belene (on the Danube, in the Northern area), the Bulgarians in Loreto will try “to experience God’s love and the magic of these meetings in a stronger way”. “It is going to be the first international youth meeting after the entry of Bulgaria into the EU – says Genov; – we have always felt united by love for God, and this crosses all borders. Certainly, now for us it is much easier to go abroad, for there are no more difficulties linked with permits”. But if Loreto is near, 2008 WYD in Sydney seems much far: “costs are really high for Bulgarian standards; for this reason, Loreto is a unique opportunity: taking part in a meeting with the Pope is not so easy”. Therefore, it is going to be an occasion “to charge one’s spirit again, because these youth meetings fill you up with emotions and enthusiasm, and let you feel the joy of belonging to a Church with a young face. They let you feel happy to be Christian”, he concludes. TURKEY. There will also be a few young Catholics from Istambul in Loreto. One of them is M.I., a student from the parish of St. Anthony. “For us Turks, it will be a great joy to go to the meeting with the Pope – he says; – there, we expect words of encouragement”. “In Istambul, the Catholics are really few – recalls M.I., – but even if being a minority is not always easy, the Turkish metropolis is a quite calm town”. For the young Turks, Loreto will be a chance to feel part of the big tide of young Christians. “It is beautiful to see that there are thousands of people believing in Jesus Christ and dreaming of a better world – he admits. – With Western people of the same age, the young Turks also want to share, “above all, our experience of dialogue with the different Christian confessions, first (in Istanbul, there are Chaldeans, Maronites, Armenians, Greek Orthodox, etc.), and the Muslim, too”. “From the visit of Benedict XVI in autumn 2006, the enthusiasm remained unchanged, and pushed us towards Loreto”. LITHUANIA AND RUSSIA. “The Agorà will be the logical continuation of the pastoral path of Lithuanian youth who were present at the national days of youth at the end of June, with the theme ‘Courage, it’s me! Don’t be afraid!’, on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The purpose was to announce the Gospel in these places, because Lithuania”, as explained by DALIA MACEVICIUTE , in charge of the young pastoral, “though it is a country with Catholic majority, suffers from the secularization which is sweeping through Europe. Therefore, these national days of youth were a turning point for the Lithuanian Church. Moreover, Loreto will also represent an opportunity to see how Italians organize these big meetings, and to learn from their experience. For the Lithuanians, too, the mandate for the mission which the Pope will give the young at the end of the Agorà will be “really remarkable”. “Lithuania urgently needs new evangelization. These meetings renew the spirit and put daily challenges in a new light, showing the right direction for one’s commitments and life projects. Youth from Siberia and Russia will also go to Loreto. “For them – as OLGA KARPOVA , from Moscow, said, – the meeting with the Pope will also be an opportunity to better know the young people of other dioceses. The young Russians want to see united European youth in Loreto: they want to see they are against the war, against weapons, and believe a better world based on love may be built up. After these big youth meetings, hope kindles, and our youth are amazed about so many young people being in the Church. Often, they are not noticed in local churches”.