"We consider ourselves very lucky for hosting the boys and girls who have come to Cologne for the World Youth Day". These are the words of a group of volunteers from the community of Bergisch Gladbach, which hosts over 2,100 pilgrims from the dioceses of Como, Lodi, Pavia and Vigevano, who have been joined by a small group of pilgrims from Kenya and about a hundred young boys and girls from Russia. "The WYD they add is a really special date. It is a meeting of peoples, languages, cultures and religions. It is a special opportunity for bearing witness to one’s faith". Bergisch Gladbach is located in the suburbs, east of Cologne. Here, about one hundred volunteers some of whom have already been working for one year for organising the event are busy providing the best assistance to all the young people who have been accommodated in families and public facilities. An excellent relation has immediately set in between the pilgrims and the community. The parish church of St. Johann Baptist, which is the venue for the catechesis, has also offered a meeting room.
