Pilgrimage and worship” “

Just over 200 days before the next World Youth Day is due to open in Cologne, the international conference organized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, which traditionally precedes WYD, was held in Bernsberg, near Cologne, from 6 to 9 January. The conference was attended by 250 guests from 70 countries, representing some 60 episcopal conferences throughout the world and some 50 international ecclesial movements, as well as delegates from the German dioceses. The conference was inaugurated on 6 January with a celebration in Cologne Cathedral, in which the president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Archbishop STANISLAV RYLKO , emphasized that the WYD is “an event in which the Church rediscovers her youthful face”. During the concluding ceremony in Altenberg Cathedral, Cardinal JOACHIM MEISNER , archbishop of Cologne, devoted his homily to the Three Magi (whose relics are venerated in Cologne): he called them “the reconnaissance patrol for the identification of the Lord in our world” and appealed to the delegates to maintain “an uncorrupted faith that does not let itself by confused or altered by the spirit of the time”. Referring to the visit made on Saturday 8 January to the area of Marienfeld which will be the venue of the concluding Mass of the 20th WYD and in which the representatives of the various countries deposited earth from their country, Meisner spoke to the delegates as follows: “Now, thanks to your earth scattered on the Marienfeld, we are being supported by you. We can count on you and for this we wish to thank you. Your willingness to support us is our hope”. THE WYD: A PILGRIMAGE. During the Bernsberg Conference, the authorities responsible for the organization of the great youth jamboree in Cologne and various protagonists of the German Church described the characteristics and significance of Cologne 2005. HEINER KOCH, general secretary of the 20th WYD, addressing the Conference on 6 January, stressed the aspect of pilgrimage that will characterize the meeting in Cologne: “…the WYD will be distinguished by the concept of pilgrimage and departure: the Holy Father and the young will arrive in Cologne by river – simultaneously in a pilgrimage on board boats. The catechesis will also develop the theme of pilgrimage; we’ll follow the Via Crucis and go on a new pilgrimage to Marienfeld, the area where the final Mass of WYD will be held. During one day we won’t be forced to listen to catechesis seated in churches, instead the catechesis will be given in the form of a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the Three Magi. In preparation for the WYD in Cologne, the Pope has given us an icon of Mary. During the vigil, we will carry it to the altar, thus following the pilgrimage of Mary. And just as the first official procession of Corpus Domini was held in the streets of Cologne in 1264, so during the vigil we will go on a procession with the Corpus Domini, a pilgrimage with the Most Holy Sacrament in our midst”. WYD AND TSUNAMI. In his address on 8 January, Cardinal KARL LEHMANN, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, spoke of the significance of WYD for Germany, scarred by the division created by the Protestant schism, by the separation of the two Germanys, by the events linked to National Socialism and by Communism. Referring to the disaster in Asia, Lehmann declared: “Within the Church, the WYD can become a platform and forum unique of its kind, so that the experiences of recent days do not represent a transient phenomenon but reinforce our consciousness of the fact that the peoples of this earth are linked to each other by mutual responsibility and solidarity. In this way, we could set an example also to many peoples living on the threshold of poverty. We are not only a community with a casual destiny of growth or ruin, but are also, through faith, a real community of hope. Let us therefore mutually support each other. The WYD is an unique opportunity to perceive and express this new idea of universal solidarity, to exercise ourselves in it and above all to put it into practice together”. THE CROSS THAT CHANGES HEARTS. The pilgrimage through Germany of the WYD Cross and the traces it has left in people’s hearts were spoken of by Msgr. FRANZ-JOSEF BODE, chairman of the commission for youth ministry of the Bishops’ Conference. “The WYD Cross has accelerated our inward spiritual preparation for WYD in the most powerful and deepest way. Now it’s a question of keeping alive these experiences in order to continue our preparation, especially with a view to the hospitality we are called on to express and the difficult challenges and exertions it involves. But especially these experiences need to be kept alive in interior dialogue with the fundamental narrative contained in chapter 2 of the Gospel of Matthew, in which those searching for Christ – the wise men from the East – find him after a difficult journey. They no longer kneel before anyone but only before Him, and finally return by other roads to their daily lives, transformed inside”.