"Something great!"” “

“I am enormously glad about Cologne! Together we shall do something great. I am sure God will bless our efforts”, declared BENEDICT XVI in addressing the organizers of WYD in Cologne, HEINER Koch , general secretary of the 20th WYD, and Georg Austin and Ulrich Hennes , secretaries of WYD, in the course of the recent audience for German pilgrims in the Vatican (25/4). Ever since the beginning of his pontificate, Benedict XVI has wished to reassure everyone about his presence at the event in Cologne. “We are delighted that you, Holy Father, wish to go to Cologne. We entrust this WYD to you. We will make every effort to ensure that God may turn these days into something unforgettable. Accept our efforts as a heartfelt gift to mark the start of your pontificate”, replied Koch, in presenting the Pope with the logo of WYD. And with the new Pope the events on the WYD programme are being stepped up. At the end of the audience, the WYD secretaries expressed their judgement: “The cardinals have elected the right Pope for WYD! Once again, God has turned everything to the good!”. THE NEW POPE. The organizing office of WYD summed up the events that led to the election of Josef Ratzinger as Pope as follows: “With the death of Pope John Paul II, the youth of the world have lost a great friend and protector. The office of WYD weeps for this Pope, for whom young people from all over the world have tirelessly worked to prepare WYD. But sadness is followed by joy, and so we rejoiced when the white smoke issued from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. The election of Benedict XVI is a gift”. VolUNTEERS. Who are the volunteers of the next WYD? Christoph Wild, head of the volunteers department of the WYD office, furnishes an identikit of the 20,323 persons who have so far enrolled to help in the organization of the event and to assist pilgrims during the meeting in Cologne. “We have reached the minimum number of 20,000 persons and are glad for each new volunteer. We are especially pleased by the high number of young volunteers who have enrolled. In this way we will be able to demonstrate that the commitment voluntarily assumed is youthful and echoes the words pronounced by Pope Benedict XVI at the start of his Petrine ministry”. In fact 55% of the volunteers are aged between 18 and 24, and 16% between 25 and 30. The most “senior” volunteer comes from Cologne and is 82 years old. Over 50% of the volunteers are women. 13,488 volunteers are Germans; the rest come from 117 countries. 17,695 volunteers are Catholics, 1,421 Protestants, 515 of other confessions (Judaism, Greek Orthodox etc.) or non-believers. PreparatONS. The effort to find the necessary accommodation continues, and not only in Cologne. In the diocese of Rottenburg/Stuttgart, of the 30,000 beds requested for the young pilgrims, sleeping arrangements for 12,000 have so far been found. The auxiliary bishop of the diocese, Msgr. Thomas Maria Renz is however sure that accommodation will be found for everyone. Young people from Italy, France, Hungary, Brazil, Poland, South Africa and Belarus will be hosted in the some 80 parishes of the diocese, on the basis of twinning arrangements with parishes in their countries of origin. The overall figures however will only be available at the beginning of June, when the deadline for enrolments ends. “The guests of WYD are not strangers. As Catholics, they come to us as our brothers and sisters in the faith”, said Bishop Renz, making a further appeal for Catholics in the diocese to offer hospitality to the young pilgrims to favour intercultural exchange, according to the slogan chosen for the campaign to provide accommodation to the participants in WYD: “Guests are a blessing”. PROJECTS. WYD bread: a creation of a baker in Mudau, in the archdiocese of Freiburg, the bread symbolises the meeting of youth of various nationalities. It is made from seeds from all over the world. The WYD bread has been on sale since 9 April in 30 bakeries in the deaneries of Buchen and Mosbach. 30 cents of the proceeds of the sale of each loaf are paid directly to the local organizing office of WYD. Another project is “Building one World”: the title of a CD that contains the official anthem of WYD “Venimus adorare eum” and a further 18 songs from throughout the world on faith, hope and charity, performed by international stars of Christian Contemporary Music. The CD will be on sale from 4 July and can be booked in advance in the virtual shop on the official website of WYD. Also available on the same site are souvenirs of Pope John Paul II, such as T-shirts and candles with the photo of Karol Wojtyla and the WYD logo. Similar souvenirs with the portrait of the new Pope will be available shortly.