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Skriven 2005-07-20 10:58:20 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service - Press Release
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Hello All!

                The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                          Vatican Information Service.
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               VIS-Press releases

YOUNG PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO MEET IN COLOGNE

VATICAN CITY, JUL 19, 2005 (VIS) - "I wish formally to announce that the next
World Youth Day will take place in 2005 in Cologne, Germany. In the great
cathedral of Cologne the relics of the Magi, the Wise Men from the East who
followed the star which led them to Christ, are honored."

With these words, pronounced during the Angelus at the 19th World Youth Day
(WYD) in Toronto, Canada, in 2002, John Paul II announced the next pilgrimage
of young people from all over the world. WYDs were established in 1984, the
Holy Year of Redemption, to reaffirm the Church's interest in youth. This year,
the young people meeting in Cologne from August 16 to 21 will consider the
theme: "We have come to worship Him," the words with which the Wise Men of the
Gospel of St. Matthew reveal the reason for their own pilgrimage.

The fact that the 20th WYD is being held in Cologne is also associated with a
desire expressed by John Paul II to Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of
that city, during the WYD held in Paris in 1997. "The Pope told me he felt it
appropriate that one of the first WYDs of the new millennium should be held in
Cologne," Cardinal Meisner recalls, "because last century Germany witnessed
some terrible disasters for humanity, and it is right that it should now
witness a great sign of hope."

The first significant event of this 20th World Youth Day began on Palm Sunday
2003 when a delegation of Canadian youth gave the cross that symbolizes WYDs to
a group of German young people. A year later, the cross and the Marian image of
'Salus Populi Romani' began a journey that, passing through all the dioceses of
Germany, will end in Cologne on August 16.

Benedict XVI's visit to Cologne will be his first outside Italy. The Pope will
meet the young people (around a million according to the WYD organizers) on
August 18. On the evening of August 19, he will participate in the Way of the
Cross; on August 20 he will join the participants in a prayer vigil, and on
August 21 he will celebrate the event's closing Mass. The altar at which he is
due to celebrate stands on a hill overlooking a large field where the pilgrims
will gather. The hill itself is manmade, composed of earth from all the
countries of the world brought by young people who have participated in the
preparatory meetings for this WYD.

During the WYD, the famous reliquary of the Wise Men will be placed behind the
altar in the cathedral, as it used to be in the Middle Ages, so the pilgrims
can see it as they pass and so, in some way, take away with them the blessing
of the Three Kings of the East.

Another feature of the WYD in Cologne will be a large mosaic depicting the face
of John Paul II composed of photographs sent in by young people from all over
the world.

Benedict XVI's program for the days he will spend in Cologne also includes a
visit to the synagogue and various meetings with the German civil and religious
authorities. He will also travel to Bonn, where he lived from 1959 to 1963 when
he taught theology at the city's university. In Bonn he is scheduled to meet
Horst Koehler, president of Germany.

According to the latest information, 7,000 priests and 700 bishops will travel
to Cologne where they will impart catechesis in the mornings, hear confessions,
and celebrate the Eucharist in the evenings.
.../WORLD YOUTH DAY/COLOGNE VIS 050719 (620)

SUMMARY

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