Over 8 thousand young people registered for the World Youth Day that will be held in Sydney, Australia on July 15-20, 2008. “These figures are provisional”- said Father Nicolò Anselmi, in charge of the Pastoral Care of the Youth for Italy’s Bishops Conference- “and they refer to the end of 2007. More registrations were filed in since the beginning of the New Year. The number of Italians in Sydney is expected to increase further also since there are many young people who are organizing autonomous groups within ecclesial movements and associations. “We envisage that the final number may add up to 15 thousand”, added Father Anselmi. In the meantime, the official website of the WYD is on-line: www.gmg2008.it. The website inserts Sydney within the Italian Church’s three-year pastoral care plan for the youth “ Agorà dei giovani italiani“, with background guidlines in view of the WYD. The website has many sections devoted to the message of the Pope, to information on the WYD, (registration, volunteers, press areas, previous editions) with links to Church media: Sir, Avvenire, Sat2000 and Radio Inblu, through which it’s possible to have accurate information on preparations for the WYD.
