Gathering of youths in Poprad

The Youth Day is like a “sumptuous banquet, filled with spiritual food. It brings the experience of the community, a reflection on faith, experiences of Christian zeal and the certainty that comes from the presence of God in lives of concrete persons”, said Mons. Stanislav Zvolensky, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Slovakia, inviting boys and girls from across the Country and from bordering Countries to take part in the major youth event of this year in central Europe, scheduled to take place July 31st-August 2 in Poprad, a sort of “preview” of the World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow. Thousands of young people will attend this celebration of joy, frienship and faith. Preparations for the event will culminate in the coming two months, thanks to the contributions of hundreds of volunteers from all Catholic dioceses, to help the coordinating team set up by the youth Council and the University of the national Bishops’ Conference. The year of purity. “The purpose of all national youth Days is to offer the experience of a living Church and a personal encounter with Christ. This was the goal of the Ruzomberok meeting in 2013 and it is what we hope for also for this year’s edition. Poprad is a city on the slopes of the Tatra Mountains, symbolically close to the border with Poland, the venue of the WYD”, said Pavol Danko, director of the program of the national Day of Poprad. Spiritual preparations began September 2014, when on the occasion of the feast of the Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, patron Saint of the Slovakian nation, were officially presented ten meetings of catechesis titled “The Year of Purity”. A team of people including bishops, religious and laity, worked on the material presented at the end of each month with reflections on various aspects of purity. Each “package” includes a letter containing catechesis; reflections on the portions from the Holy Scriptures; creative ideas for parishes, schools, community meetings; a short biography of one of the Patron Saints of the World Youth Day in Poprad; a sheet for individual work. Special attention was dedicated to visual communication of the event. “The logo is represented by the drawing of an eye with a the outline of a heart instead of the pupil, whose glance is directed towards three coloured triangles symbolizing the Trinitarian unity of God, and the peaks of the Tatra Mountains surrounding the city of Poprad”, explained Erika Canikova, author of the graphic project. “Expo of vocations”. A special place inside the national Day will be reserved to the “Expo of vocations” where religious orders and congregations will have the opportunity of speaking to youths and sharing with them some of them personal experiences of consecrated life. This edition of Expo will have a special flair since it falls within the framework of celebrations for the Year of Consecrated Life proclaimed by Pope Francis. “Let us go to Poprad and create a large community, thereby spreading the love of God among all those who will come”, wrote Fr Jeremias Daniel Kvaka from the male Conference of major Superiors, with the support of Sister Magdalena Sumilasova, who added: “I call upon all congregations to come and help us create a community of joyful consecrated persons, yearning to dedicate their time to young people, to listen and pray for them, offering them the opportunity of getting to know us”. There are over 40 female and 30 male congregations and religious orders in Slovakia, amounting to a total of 446 religious communities throughout the Country. Treasure. Drawing inspiration from the World Youth Days, also the Day in Slovakia has its patron Saints: Domenico Savio, Laura Vicuna, Maria Goretti, Gianna Beretta Molla and Chiara Luce Badano. Their message of a strong faith, full of love for people and devotion to God, has exerted a remarkable influence on the life of large numbers of Slovakian youths. Also this spirit involved famous singer Simona Martausova, who wrote the hymn of the National Youth Day titled “Treasure”. “Fast rhythm and high-flown sounds are not in harmony with the beatitude of those with a pure heart. It’s more similar to a fragile desire that belongs to us all, that is chanted by our souls. That’s why we have invited Simona Martausova, who is able to integrate a deep soul inside her songs”, said Pavol Danko. The Communication team of the National Day envisages that this event can count on the support of the Church and also of civil authorities, as confirmed by the mayor of Poprad, Jozef Svagerko. Ondrej Chrvala, chief coordinator of the Day, said: “There is a lot of hard work behind the preparations and organization of the Youth Day in Poprad, that’s why it’s important to be able to count on a strong coordinating team. We are pleased by the large support given by increasing numbers of people, including many of those working as volunteers, since without them we would have been unable to put together a large project like this one”, an event that will give a significant contribution to the spiritual preparation of the WYD in Krakow.