Bulgaria" "
The preparation of the Catholic youth of Bulgaria for World Youth Day (WYD) in Cologne is proceeding rapidly. The Bulgarian Bishops’ Conference has delegated the task of preparing the young and coordinating the pilgrimage from the three dioceses of the country to a national Committee. It has so far met three times to discuss the organizational details and the financial problem, which remains the biggest obstacle for the participation of Bulgarian youth”, as explained by Father Remo Gambacorta, chairman of the Committee, in a briefing to SIR: “Bulgaria he points out remains one of the countries with the lowest incomes in Europe. So for many young people the lack of funds is a serious impediment to going to Cologne. However, we will do all in our power to find sponsors”. WYD, according to many priests, will help the youth ministry in Bulgaria a great deal. “In Cologne the young will be able to see and better understand what is the Church adds Fr. Gambacorta -. Unfortunately Catholics in Bulgaria have no experience of the fact that the Church is the same throughout the world”. Some parishes have decided to help the young by collecting the necessary funds in instalments beginning last October; others ask kids whose parents are unemployed to do some work in the parish as a way of earning their ticket. Groups of teenagers who hope to take part in the meeting in Cologne have been formed in their respective parishes for several months now. These groups meet regularly; they speak of the Pope’s message for WYD and listen to the catechesis proposed by the organizers in Germany. “Preparation is very important points out Father Mariusz Polzin, responsible for a group of a hundred or so youngsters in the three parishes run by the Capuchin Fathers in Bulgaria because in this way the young will better understand the Pope’s words during the final vigil. And WYD will then yield fruit in their life, because they in turn will be able to bear witness to their contemporaries of the joy of believing in Christ”. Preparations began a year ago when the WYD Cross arrived in Bulgaria and was received with joy and emotion by Bulgarian youth. The Catholics of Byzantine rite have already held a meeting in Plovdiv and another is planned for April. Joint youth meetings in the two dioceses of Plovdiv and Russe are also planned in the months ahead. “At Cologne says Father Blagovest Vanghelov, of the Byzantine-rite parish of Sofia the young will experience that there are people on the other side of the globe who think just like us, that Jesus is the same is all languages, cultures and nations”. But what are the expectations of Bulgarian youth in WYD in Cologne and with what feelings are they preparing for the meeting with the Pope? We put the question to the teenagers who meet in the parish of St. Joseph in Sofia. “I hope to get to know young people from all over the world who share the same values as we do”, says Filip Valcev. “There will undoubtedly be a spiritual development”, adds Vessela. Those who were in Rome for the last WYD in 2000 are looking forward to Cologne with even greater enthusiasm. At Toronto, on the other hand, the presence of Bulgarian youth was only virtual, thanks to television broadcasts. But those going for the first time are curious about the event. “I recollect the Pope’s meeting with the young in 2002 during his visit to Bulgaria and I imagine that the meeting in Cologne will be a hundred times finer”, says Svetla. “It will be fascinating says Valentin Petkov -; there will be so many young believers there; they will give us courage because we are just a few Catholics in Bulgaria. One thing is certain: nobody will come home the same person as before after WYD in Cologne”. “We will more readily distinguish the good things in others, we won’t judge others so much says Radoslav Chobanov-Li -. The world will see that Christian youth can be modern and at the same time disciples of Christ”.
