(Vatican Radio) The final preparations are underway in Krakow for World Youth Day which begins on the 26th of July. While the city prepares for Pope Francis, the finishing touches are being made to many of the areas the Pope will visit over the course of the celebration. Dorata Abdelmoula is the spokesperson for World Youth Day (WYD) in Krakow and spoke to Lydia O’Kane.Listen: Preparations“All over Krakow we can already see that World Youth Day is approaching”, Dorata says, adding that everything is almost ready at Campus Misericordia where Pope Francis will celebrate the final Mass. She says, “it’s not very sophisticated because we’re trying to maintain the spirituality of Pope Francis, it’s a pretty simple construction but a I think a beautiful one.” Another theme, she notes which is very much in evidence is the Divine Mercy “and the spiritual heart of this World Youth Day will be the Shrine of the Divine Mercy.&r...
(Vatican Radio) The final preparations are underway in Krakow for World Youth Day which begins on the 26th of July. While the city prepares for Pope Francis, the finishing touches are being made to many of the areas the Pope will visit over the course of the celebration. Dorata Abdelmoula is the spokesperson for World Youth Day (WYD) in Krakow and spoke to Lydia O’Kane.
Listen:
Preparations
“All over Krakow we can already see that World Youth Day is approaching”, Dorata says, adding that everything is almost ready at Campus Misericordia where Pope Francis will celebrate the final Mass. She says, “it’s not very sophisticated because we’re trying to maintain the spirituality of Pope Francis, it’s a pretty simple construction but a I think a beautiful one.” Another theme, she notes which is very much in evidence is the Divine Mercy “and the spiritual heart of this World Youth Day will be the Shrine of the Divine Mercy.”
Registration
Young people are coming from all over the world to participate in this youth event and Dorata says apart from the registrations they have already received, they are expecting a last minute influx into the city.
“Up to now we have got more than 560,000 registered pilgrims who have declared their presence. For the opening Mass we expect about 500.000 pilgrims…and then the number will increase, we expect about 800,000 for the Way of the Cross on Friday, about 1 million pilgrims for the vigil of the Holy Father at Campus Misericordia and between 1.5 million and 1.8m pilgrims for the final Mass.”
Security
The terrible events recently in Nice as well as in Brussels and Paris have highlighted the need for vigilance at major events. The WYD spokesperson stresses that security is a top priority and vetting procedures have been thorough for World Youth Day. “From the very beginning we are also preparing all the World Youth Day events as well in the diocese as here in Krakow with the great help of our government, of the local authorities of all the national and international security services.” She goes on to says that, “after all those tragic events in Europe, not only the number of pilgrims didn’t decrease, but also we have felt more solidarity among young people. We have received so many heartwarming declarations from all over the world that young people feel even more invited to gather to testify their faith…”
Information and assistance for pilgrims
Regarding information and assistance for those who are coming as tourists as well as pilgrims, help is at hand in the form of many volunteers giving their time during the event. “Volunteers are eager to help and eager to give all the logistic and practical information,” says Dorata, and she adds that “almost every single diocese has got an account on social media but also a website. In Krakow itself there is an app available and there will be many information points throughout the city run by volunteers.”
Kennedy opened up to veteran EWTN News anchorman Raymond Arroyo about his family's strong faith growing up, how his faith helped him overcome drug addiction and how it impacts him in his day-to-day life in the travails of U.S. presidential politics. / Credit: EWTN News "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo" / ScreenshotWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 06:30 am (CNA).Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discussed the importance of his Catholic faith in his daily life, his plan to reduce abortions without federal restrictions, and his opposition to biological males playing in women's sports during an exclusive interview on "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo" Thursday night.Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, is running a vigorous independent campaign to be the next president of the United States. He launched an independent bid for the White House last October after initially challeng...
Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).Asked during a new interview if he has any message for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who instigated the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis stated that "a negotiated peace is better than an endless war."CBS News broadcast some excerpts April 24 from a new interview conducted by journalist Norah O'Donnell with Pope Francis at St. Martha House, the pontiff's residence in the Vatican.During the exchange, the full version of which will be released on May 19, the Holy Father reflected on world conflicts and especially on the suffering of children during wars.O'Donnell asked the Holy Father if he had any message for Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine, to which the pontiff replied: "Please, countries at war, all of them... Stop the war. Seek to negotiate. Seek peace. A negotiated peace is better than an e...
An aerial view of Washington Square in San Francisco on May 22, 2020. / Credit: JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).San Francisco police arrested a homeless man last Sunday for allegedly stabbing a parent from a nearby Catholic school after an altercation involving the two outside a historic Catholic church in the city. Twenty-five-year-old Marko Asaulyuk of San Francisco was charged with attempted murder and eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon.The Catholic school father, who was released from the hospital Sunday, only suffered a minor injury to his leg, Father Tho Bui, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, told CNA Thursday in an email.San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was conferring the sacrament of confirmation on the parish school's students and students from a nearby parish during a noon Mass when a "disruptive man" entered the church, as Bui described him.The man was walking up and down the main aisle of the ...