One year and counting till WYD

Published: 29 August 2010

ACROSS Australia, dioceses, schools, communities and movements are celebrating "12 months out" from World Youth Day (WYD).

World Youth Day (WYD) will be celebrated in Madrid next August with an anticipated 2.1 million pilgrims participating.

Australia is expected to send up to 5000 pilgrims to Spain for this celebration, many of them young people who were inspired by Sydney's 2008 WYD.

A variety of "one year out" events already have taken place around Aust-ralia, including the World Youth Day 2011 Vivid launch in Brisbane last weekend.

A huge schools gathering was held in Sydney recently at Holy Cross College, Ryde, with 600 students and teachers from across Sydney archdiocese taking part.

A similar event was organised in Tasmania.

Australian Catholic Bishops Confer-ence delegate for youth Bishop Joseph Grech will attend World Youth Day and attests to the powerful renewal of faith it can provide.

"World Youth Day is one of the greatest opportunities we have as a Catholic Church to evangelise young people.

This event truly demonstrates the global Church, and shows how Jesus Christ unites us all in his love," Bishop Grech said.

Preparations, planning and fundraising is well underway for more than 60 pilgrimage groups including groups from the Brisbane archdiocese, Townsville diocese and Perth archdiocese who are working to develop their full itineraries for the event with Harvest Tours.