Pilgrims of faith

To be "testimonies of peace" and contribute "to the erection of a more fraternal world for a solidarity-based society". According to frère David this is the contribution that 30 thousand youths registered to take part in the 35th pilgrimage of faith on earth organized by the Community of Taizé could bring to Rome from December 28 through January 2 2013. According to the program of the event, presented in a press conference in Rome December 4, pilgrims will arrive December 28. They will be received in audience by Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s on December 29 at 18.00.Young Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox from all over Europe. Youths will be arriving from European countries – including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, France, Great Britain, Portugal and Italy -. 50% of them are Catholic, 50% Orthodox, Protestant and non-believers. The program envisages meetings with the youths in the morning in almost all parishes involved, while in the afternoon and in the evening they will convene in the historical centre of Rome for meals, meetings and joint prayers in Rome’s major basilicas: St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs, St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven, St. Mary above Minerva, and Church of St. Ignatius. The prior of Taizé, frère Alois, will carry out his meditations in the basilica of St. John in Lateran, that will be projected simultaneously on giant screens in six other churches.Rome’s renowned hospitality. "Over the past years it has been possible to welcome participants in the meetings in homes – said frère Marek – so we count on the renowned hospitality of Rome’s families". The youths will be staying in the parishes – over 200 – and in private homes (www.taize.it/roma). In the morning there will be opportunities for exchange and spirituality in the parishes and in the afternoon, in the period between the two common prayers, the youths will be able take part in meetings organized for them in various locations around the city. The topics range from the faith of the early Christians with a visit to the catacombs, silence and personal prayer, sharing with refugees and volunteers of the Astalli Centre and the Jesuit Centre for refugees in Rome, to peace-building with the meeting of two witnesses, and again a reflection on the economy, employment and illegality. As regards facilities, the city of Rome will contribute to the event by providing cheaper travel cards, with the tent city set up at the Circus Maximus and the taking care of various logistical aspects. The mayor, Gianni Alemanno, said: "The real news is that families will open the doors of their homes". "We welcome these young people as a gift to the city", he added. Young European faithful. A boost in faith and hope will be brought to the city of Rome by 30thousand youths who have already registered this year for the European end-of-year meeting. They were warmly welcomed by the Cardinal vicar of Rome Agostino Vallini: "In the dynamics of democratic life, often conducted under the banner of protest – the cardinal said – the possibility of finding young people living similar situations in Europe, who despite many questions about the future tell us that it is possible to have reasons for hope and faith and share these reasons with adults, society and its institutions, is an experience marked by brotherly love, positivity, of which we are in dire need of today". The young people taking part in the event, the cardinal said, "will reflect on the reality starting with a set of questions: is it possible to be a sign of hope in contemporary society?" "Can young people change the atmosphere of a city?" "If we look at reality – he said – it can be said that today young people strive to transmit faith in this time in history". Welcome by the Roman parishes and by the families that will be hosting them in the four days of stay in Rome, young people will bring to the eternal city "the value of welcome – said cardinal Vallini – at a time when fragmentation seems to mark, for different reasons, the life of cities and neighbourhoods under the banner of "every man for himself". The youths will bring the message to the city as "pilgrims of faith in the world" raising "an urgent theme that involves the heart of all men and invites them, in all situations of life, also the most desperate and sad, not to loose faith, since man is a richness and a reflection of the Love of God". This message "is on the same wavelength" of the world meeting of the youths with John Paul II in the year 2000, when the Pope asked them to be "morning sentinels". All that comes from the young – concluded cardinal Vallini – is always an indication of future and of hope".