"Rehearsal" for World Youth Day
VATICAN CITY, AUGUST 13 (ZENIT.org).- Dressed in blue jackets, on Saturday, August 12, 25,000 World Youth Day volunteers opened a breach for the more than one million young people who are on their way to Rome. Together, the volunteers crossed the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, and then met with John Paul II.
Around 10:30 a.m., under a brilliant sun and following a Mass in the Square presided over by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar of Rome, pictures of the Pope projected on giant screens were met with applause, cries, and waving visors and handkerchiefs. It was a veritable "rehearsal" of the choreography that will be evident in Rome over the next week, when it becomes the world capital of youth.
John Paul II spoke live to those in St. Peter's Square from Castel Gandolfo his summer residence, located some 20 miles from Rome. With him, in addition, were 1,500 volunteers, who filled the patio of the pontifical residence with joy and hues of blue.
The Pope addressed "especially cordial" words to them, because they volunteered to help the hundreds of thousands of youths arriving at present in the Eternal City. "This is a much anticipated event, being watched by the eyes of all believers, because the young generations must take up the torch of faith and carry it to their contemporaries and humanity in the third millennium."
"I am grateful for the generosity with which you gave your commitment. You are asked to help your contemporaries and pilgrims from all over the world, to participate in an orderly and fruitful way in the different events of the World Youth Day," the Pontiff said.
However, logistics are not what is most important. "By means of efficient organization, help them encounter Christ and make this international meeting an unforgettable Church experience. Help them, moreover, to experience the beauty of being together, guided by positive feelings, to lay the foundations for a new humanity, inspired in the values of fraternity and peace," the Holy Father added.
In addition to the volunteers, there was another "division" in the patio of the pontifical residence of Castel Gandolfo: 1,400 directors and collaborators of the Sodexho restaurant enterprise, in charge of preparing and distributing food, over the next few days, to youths attending the World Youth Day. A grateful John Paul II acknowledged that they sacrificed "some days of vacation to be available to the participants of this extraordinary Jubilee event." Sodexho staff donated an hour of their work to papal charities.
The Holy Father joked repeatedly with the young people; he was constantly interrupted by applause and cheers both from those present in Castel Gandolfo, as well as by the thousands of volunteers in St. Peter's Square connected by television.
John Paul II did not neglect to greet some 70 nuns from the Schönstatt Movement, a federation of religious, priestly, and lay communities founded in 1914 by the German priest Joseph Kentenich which today is present throughout the world. "This meeting with you brings to mind the testimonies and works of so many Christian women, who have formed the life of the Church and society," the Pope said. At least 1,500 youths belonging to the Movement are about to arrive in Rome to attend World Youth Day.
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