.- With only 33 days to go, Canadian Catholics are geared up for World Youth Day 2005. To date, more than 6,200 Canadian youth have registered for World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne, Germany, up 50 percent from WYD 2000 in Rome, reports the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The largest Canadian delegation is from the Archdiocese of Montreal with more than 900 pilgrims, reports Sr. Francine Guilmette, FMA, co-ordinator of the archdiocesan WYD Office.
Almost 30 Canadian bishops — including the country’s three cardinals — are expected to attend the international youth event, Aug. 16-21.
The Canadian Catholic press will also have a strong presence.
Fr. Thomas Rosica, who was national director of WYD 2002 in Toronto and is now CEO of Salt + Light Television, was in Cologne recently to finalize television coverage arrangements for the Canadian Catholic network, EWTN and the French-language arm of the CBC, called Radio-Canada. The three broadcasters will share a platform in Cologne.
Several diocesan papers have also made arrangements to have reporters on site.
