70,000 to Mark Youth Day Anniversary With Pope

ROME, Mar. 22, 2010, 15:50 Hrs (Zenit.org):

As World Youth Day turns 25, some 70,000 young people of the Diocese of Rome will celebrate the anniversary with Pope Benedict XVI.

The youth ministry department of the diocese has planned an event for March 25 at 7 p.m. in St. Peter's Square. Then on Palm Sunday, March 28, the Pope will continue celebrating Youth Day -- held this year at the diocesan level.

"The event is structured in two parts. The first recalls the 25 years of WYD, this great meeting invented by John Paul II," Father Maurizio Mirilli, director of youth ministry for the Diocese of Rome. "We will recall above all the first WYD, which was held in Rome in 1985, with which the Pope began this great meeting of young people with the Pope in the name of Jesus. Then we will recall especially moments of WYD 2000 in Tor Vergata, and finally the last WYD, which took place in Sydney in 2008."

Father Mirilli also explained how the evening of March 25 will be structured: "We will have the testimony of two spouses, he a Roman and she a native of Valencia, now in their 50s, who met precisely during the first WYD. They were married two years later and today have five children; the older ones will take part in next year's world meeting in Madrid.

"Then it will be the turn of actress Beatrice Fazi, who precisely after the Tor Vergata WYD began her journey of faith and conversion. The third testimony will be that of a seminarian, Davide Martini, who will receive priestly ordination next year."

The testimonies will be alternated with music.

"The second part of the [event] will be the meeting with the Pope, who will arrive at 8:20 p.m. and stay with the young people until 9:30 p.m.," Father Mirilli continued. "Benedict XVI, who for the first time has agreed to meet with young people at night, will spontaneously answer the questions of three youngsters, who will ask him about the theme of this year's WYD: 'Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life.'"

The priest noted that this initiative has a double aim: "on one hand, to meet with the Pope and to hear what he has to say to young people today on issues that question young people's heart. We anticipate words of hope from the Pontiff. The second aim is to recall these 25 years of WYD, to understand their meaning, to see if it still makes sense to experience them and to see their fruits."

The World Youth Day cross will also be part of the festivities. It will be processed by 20 university students and five military personnel. And more than 30,000 torches will be lit in the square.

A Spanish delegation will be representing the host country of the next international World Youth Day -- scheduled for August 2011 in Madrid. Delegations representing the five continents will also be present; they've been convoked by the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

The mayor of Rome is also expected to attend, as are many bishops and cardinals.