| Chile – Salesian Colleges and Parishes represented at WYD 2011 |
| South Korea – Born under the sign of WYD, on the way to Madrid |
Salesians and Daughters of Mary Help of Christians have been involved in assembling the 6500 young people. For the Salesian Family, World Youth Day is a pastoral opportunity giving the young people an experience of faith and Church and of meeting hundreds of thousands of other young believers.
The Youth Ministry office in Spain has reported that, according to available data, there will be 4921 from the SYM in Europe, 669 from the Americas, 248 from Africa and 347 from Asia and Oceania.
In particular, more than 1500 will be coming from Spain, and a similar number from Italy, 500 from Portugal, 80 from the Philippines, about a hundred from Hong Kong, 200 from Brazil, 500 from Slovakia, 300 from Mexico and 100 from Angola. There will also be smaller groups from Tanzania, Haiti, Zambia, Congo, Sudan, South Africa, Korea, Georgia, Germany, Austria, France, Croatia, Great Britain, and other countries. A further thousand will be at World Youth Day as part of groups from their local dioceses.
From the start, Salesian centres in Madrid have put themselves at the disposition of the organisers of World Youth Day, offering the use of their premises and indicating their willingness to provide hospitality for participants from the SYM.
For the past year a team made up of Salesians and Daughters of Mary Help of Christians responsible for Youth Ministry have been preparing various places to welcome the young people. The Salesian houses in and around Madrid are ready to host the pilgrims. Several working parties (secretarial, youth ministry, volunteering, logistics, communications) have been set up in order to get everything prepared for World Youth Day.
Published 3/8/2011
