World Youth Day 2005

[Scott1]

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Cologne, Germany (16-21 August 2005)
Celebration (international)

XX World Youth Day

"We have come to worship Him (Mt 2,2)"

I wish formally to announce that the next World Youth Day will take place in 2005, in Cologne, Germany.
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In the great Cathedral in Cologne are honoured the relics of the Magi, the Wise Men from the East who followed the star which led them to Christ. As pilgrims, your spiritual journey to Cologne starts today. Christ awaits you there for the Twentieth World Youth Day!
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May the Virgin Mary, our Mother on our pilgrimage of faith, be with you on the way. (Toronto, 28 July 2002)
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These were the words of Pope John Paul II after the Papal Mass at Downsview Park in Toronto as he invited young people to the next World Youth Day to be held in Cologne from 16 to 21 August 2005.
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In his message for the 18th World Youth Day, celebrated at diocesan level on Palm Sunday 2003, the Holy Father announced the themes for World Youth Day 2004 and 2005, thus indicating a path of preparation to be taken during the next two years:
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2004 19th World Youth Day: "We wish to see Jesus" (Jn 12:21)
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2005 20th World Youth Day: "We have come to worship Him" (Mt 2:2)
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In response to the Holy Father's invitation, young people have already set out on this stage of their pilgrimage. The World Youth Day Cross was passed from the youth of Canada to the youth of Germany. It has set out on a long journey through many countries of Europe before it goes on pilgrimage through the dioceses of Germany. It is accompanied by the icon of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani, that was present at the WYD Vigil at Tor Vergata in Rome in August 2000 and which Pope John Paul II has entrusted to the youth: "Today I also entrust to the delegation from Germany the Icon of Mary. From now on it will accompany the World Youth Days, together with the Cross. Behold, your Mother! It will be a sign of Mary's motherly presence close to young people who are called, like the Apostle John, to welcome her into their lives."(Angelus, 18th World Youth Day, 13 April 2003).
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At the same time, the logistic organisation of WYD has been set in motion. The Pontifical Council for the Laity, entrusted by the Holy Father since the beginning with the overseeing of this task, held an international conference in Rome for WYD organisers from around the world with the title: "From Toronto to Cologne". The German organising committee for WYD 2005 with headquarters in Cologne has begun the enormous task of planning and programming the event. Following a national competition, and with the approval of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the official logo of WYD 2005 is now available.​

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For more information, visit: http://www.vatican.va/gmg/documents/gmg_2005_en.html​

 

[Scott1]

VATICAN CITY, SEP 28, 2004 (VIS) - Published today was the theme of the Holy Father's Message for the 38th World Day of Peace which will take place on January 1, 2005: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good."

According to a communique, the theme "seeks to solicit awareness of evil as the cause and source of conflicts and wars, and at the same time, of the inseparable link between moral good and peace. Peace is, in fact, a good that comes as the fruit of inspired choices for good and oriented toward good." The message emphasizes "behavior which leads to the exercise of personal and collective responsibility which has the special characteristic of looking for good."

"The will to seek out good and avoid evil must take into account the numerous social and economic problems that weigh on the lives of peoples - inequality, poverty, wide-spread injustice, insecurity - in order to find a solution inspired by justice and solidarity."

 

[Scott1]

VATICAN CITY, SEP 29, 2004 (VIS) - Made public today was the Pope's Message for the World Day of the Sick which will take place on February 11, 2005 and whose theme is, "Christ, hope for Africa." The main celebration will take place at the Shrine of Our Lady, Queen of Apostles in Yaounde, Cameroon.

In the message, dated September 8, the Pope says that the conflicts and wars in many parts of Africa "make intervention to prevent and cure the diseases that devastate the continent very difficult."

"I encourage those who are able to dedicate themselves to stopping these tragedies. I remind those responsible for selling arms of what I have written: 'Those who perpetuate the wars in Africa through arms trafficking are accomplices to hateful crimes against humanity'."

Referring to the specific problem of AIDS, John Paul II recalls that "in order to fight it in a responsible way, prevention must be increased through education on life issues and the proper view of sexuality." In this way, he emphasizes, sexually-transmitted infections can be avoided "especially through responsible behavior and the observance of the virtue of chastity."

The Pope focuses on the duty of the government and civil authorities to provide accurate information about AIDS and to invest in the education of young people and health care. After praising the "pharmaceutical industries that are committed to keeping the cost of drugs low," the Holy Father recalls "with admiration the numerous health care workers, religious helpers and volunteers, who, like good Samaritans, spend their lives caring for AIDS victims and their families."

"The celebration of the World Day of the Sick," he writes, "offers us all the possibility to understand better the importance of pastoral health care. ... It is precisely in the moment of illness that one urgently needs to find appropriate answers to the deepest questions regarding man's life: questions on the meaning of pain, suffering and death, considered not only as a mystery which must be confronted with strength but as a mystery in which Christ incorporates our life to Him."