WYD Madrid
Portugal: pop and funk for evangelizationThe cultural programme of the World Youth Days in Madrid will avail itself of the musical participation of the dioceses of Lisbon and Guarda. “We received 700 performance proposals from all over the world. Of the 300 that have been approved, 4 are from Portugal” said the director of the WYD press office Marieta Jaureguizar in Lisbon during the presentation of the initiativeIn the framework of the Festival for Culture and Youth young Portuguese citizens will have the opportunity to provide their contribution, starting with a tribute to the founder of the event on August 17: “It’s the musical festival ‘Wojtyla’, in the Fernán Gomez theatre of Piazza Colón, that hosted the gathering with John Paul II in his last visit to Portugal, organised by the parish of Cascais”, pointed out the responsible of the event. “In turn, Anima Christi, a group linked to the Youth Service of Lisbon’s Patriarchate, will present a series of musical themes that draw inspiration from biblical verses and priestly reflections”. “The Laetare group from the parish of Reboleira, will propose songs in Portuguese, Spanish, English and Italian”. Finally, among the WYD performances figures the renowned Banda Jota, linked to the diocesan Secretariat for Youth Pastoral Care of the city of Guarda, that proposes “pop and funk as an instrument for evangelization”. Approximately 10 thousand young Portuguese have registered their participation in the upcoming WYD.Austria: Mgs, stepping up preparationsAt a month’s time from the opening of the World Youth Day in Madrid, Austria’s Salesian Youth movement draws a balance of the situation. The organizational team, consisting of Salesian fathers and youth is continuing the preparatory work that was begun a year ago. On Sunday June 26 WYD participants were invited for a preparatory meeting. Sixty young people arriving from all over Austria came together for a day of sharing and feasting at Vienna’s Salesian “Don Bosco Haus”. The meeting’s agenda included the youth meeting and a brief Spanish lesson to learn the language’s fundamental expressions along with information on the country and the presentation of the WYD. All young people collaborated in drawing a large poster to be brought to Madrid. The youth, divided into groups, read and reflected on Pope Benedict XVI’s message for the Day: “Planted and Built up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith”. A Eucharistic celebration concluded the meeting. Fr Siegfried Kettner, Delegate for Youth Pastoral Care, in his homily spoke of the sequel of Christ in everyday life and invited young people to give their testimony. A total of 93 young people of Austria’s MGS will travel to Spain August 11 to 22 2011 to attend the WYD. In the first part of their trip, during the so-called “Days in the Dioceses” they will be the guests of the Salesians in Barcelona. Once in Madrid they will take part in the MGS meeting, due to take place on August 17. They will also animate a catechesis for the German language group.Georgia: from Caucasus to MadridFrom the Caucasus to Madrid. Groups of young people from the ex Soviet republics of Georgia and Axerbaijan – the former with an Orthodox majority population, the latter with a Muslim majority population – will also take part in the WYD. “36 young people will leave for Madrid – Msgr. Giuseppe Pasotto, Apostolic administrator of the Caucasus for the Latins told SIR Europe. “They will be accompanied by two nuns and two priests, with a pilgrimage organized by the dioceses. Others will arrive with a pilgrimage proposed by the Neocatechumenal way, that will bring together also young people from Russia and from other countries”. The Georgian Catholic community is a small minority, it represents slightly over one per cent of the Country’s overall population, while the community of bordering Azerbaijan is even smaller, as it has just one Catholic church and a few hundred faithful. Also a young Azerbijani will take part in the event in Madrid with the delegation of the Italian-FIdae Catholic Student movement that is working on a student project for collaboration with the Apostolic Nunciature of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, alon with a young University student from Georgia, who will be hosted by the movement in Italy after the WYD until the completion of her Pedagogy university studies.
