The news was given by Bishop Msgr. Petko Hristov, during a reunion of the Diocesan Pastoral Council held at the end of 2007 on the forthcoming commitments of the diocese of Nicopoli. For the first time, one of the three Bulgarian Catholic Dioceses presented its yearly pastoral plan. The year 2008 marks 10 years since the beatification of the first Blessed Bulgarian martyr Msgr. Bossilikov, shot by the Communist regime. On the occasion, from March to July the reliquaries of the Blessed martyr will be brought on pilgrimage throughout the diocese. The peak event is scheduled for September 20, 2008 in the sanctuary of Msgr. Bossilikov, in his native town of Belene. Since faithful cannot afford the trip to Lourdes, on May 31 a Diocesan pilgrimage will be held in the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes sanctuary in Plovdiv. As relates to Catechism, courses for children and the youth, specific texts on the figure of Saint Paul will be read, prepared by the Diocesan Council on the occasion of the Pauline year. In the Youth Diocesan Meeting scheduled for June 7 2008, the youth will have the possibility of showing all they have learnt by participating in an Olympiad specifically dedicated to the Apostle of the peoples. The most relevant youth event will be Sydney’s World Youth Day, which will be attended by just a small number of young Bulgarians due to financial reasons. On July 18-19 2008 the diocese of Nicopoli scheduled a youth meeting in the monastery of the Benedictine Sisters of Zarevbrod, near the city of Shumen. The young faithful will have the possibility of following the Pope’s words on giant screens thanks to simultaneous interpretation and spiritually participate in the event.
