Bulgaria, light after darkness” “

“Per crucem ad lucem”: with this slogan, the World Youth Day (WYD) Cross began its pilgrimage through Bulgaria on 10 March by meeting young Catholics. The starting point was in Plovdiv – centre of the diocese of Sofia-Plovdiv – with a meeting that filled the cathedral of the city. “The arrival of the WYD Cross in Bulgaria is a unique event – said the president of the Bulgarian Episcopal Conference Msgr. HRISTO PROIKOV –, we count a lot on our youth and will organise other similar meetings to prepare them for the great event in Cologne in 2005″. SUDDENLY MANY SMALL LIGHTS…“We were all in the dark, in the darkness that so many of us young people also have within our heart and suddenly, one after another, small lights sprang up that shed light on the profile of the Cross. In that moment I felt very close to the love of God and there was a wonderful atmosphere”, says Alexander Zekov, from Racovschi. The culmination of the journey of the WYD Cross through Bulgaria took place on 13 March, during the national youth meeting in Sofia: in spite of the cold (2 degrees below zero) large numbers of youngsters came from all over the country. The entire Bulgarian Episcopal Conference was present, so too was the apostolic nuncio Msgr. Giuseppe Leanza, who on behalf of the Pope asked the young to “be witnesses of Christ to the generations of our time”. On 14 March the Cross was in the parishes of Sofia, before travelling through the diocese of Nicopoli – situated in northern Bulgaria -, stopping in the towns of Pleven, Malcika, Ruse, Ores. It ended its visit to Bulgaria in the city of the Blessed Eugene Bossilkov–Belene on 17 March. The next stage in its pilgrimage is Albania. A LETTER OF BULGARIAN YOUTH. “The Cross reminds us of the crossroads that life often confronts us with”, says the letter to the youth of the whole world written by Bulgarian youth: “We wrote our names below the paper Cross that accompanied the large Cross and wish in this way to express our decision to follow the Cross of Christ together with youngsters all over the world”. Many young people were able to carry the Cross and one of them – Sandra – said: “It’s really heavy, but this only made me think how far heavier must have been that of Christ, carried to save me and the whole world”. During the various youth meetings in Bulgaria, the rite of the Via Crucis was held, praying especially for orphans, the disabled, street children, etc. The national meeting also captured the attention of the Bulgarian media. Bulgarian youth tried to follow the Cross in the meetings held in the various towns of the country. Their emotion was palpable: “The meeting with the Cross of Christ has shown me the direction of my life”, says Svetla, from Ores. “It increased my faith and helped me to resume the Christian path I had somewhat lost”, confesses Pavel from Pleven. “I’m full of joy – says Alexander from Racovschi – because I know that this cross is the symbol of unity and love”. IT ARRIVED IN PLOVDIV AT A PARTICULAR MOMENT… The Cross arrived at a particular moment for the youth of Plovdiv – stunned the previous week by the assassination of a fourteen-year-old girl by two of her female friends. “The arrival of the Cross helped the youth of Plovdiv to understand the meaning of suffering because all of us were devastated by the tragedy, especially adolescents”, says Father Dimitar Dimitrov, assistant director of youth ministry in the diocese of Sofia-Plovdiv. “The lack of values, such as respect and love for our neighbour, are among the main problems we encounter in our work with the young”, says the Passionist Father Walter Gora, assistant director of youth ministry in the diocese of Nicopoli. “It’s important for the young to be Christians not only during meetings and in their youth groups, but also when they go out with their friends, who often induce them to take roads that do not lead to Christ”, comments Father Blagovest Vanghelov, in charge of youth apostolate for Catholics of Byzantine rite. “We saw their enthusiasm and their wish to go to Cologne in 2005”, says the vicar of the diocese of Sofia-Plovdiv Father Mario Polzyn. “These are the results of our work with the young over the last few years. The effect of the Pope’s visit two years ago can also be felt”.