Songs, music, little plays and exchanges of experiences to liven up and make more attractive the three catecheses of the forthcoming World Youth Day, which will take place in Sidney from 15th to 20th July 2008. The dates have already been scheduled, Wednesday 16th, Thursday 17th and Friday 18th July, from 9 to 11 am, followed by Mass. Three hundred places have been selected, including parish churches, schools, sporting and social facilities, where the young will be divided by language groups, each one composed of 200 to 2 thousand people (with an average of 835 participants per catechesis). SIR learnt from the Organising Committee that "the parishes are also organising typical Australian barbecues to be held after the Wednesday catechesis". The young pilgrims will also have the opportunity to take part in the Youth Festival (from 15th to 18th July, from afternoon to evening), offering a total of 150 hours of shows, exhibitions, forums, dancing, films, theatre and street evangelisation. The highlights of the WYD, along with any event attended by Benedict XVI, include the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of St. Mary, where the young will be asked to entrust their lives to Mary in front of an icon of the Virgin of the Southern Star. For the occasion, the Committee hopes they will have the relics of the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, one of the patrons of the WYD.
