Rome, Italy, Mar 29, 2012 / 23:04 pm
If someone asks what World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro will be like, the event’s organizers believe they have the perfect answer – the open arms of the city’s famous statue of Christ the Redeemer.
“Looking at the imposing statue of Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado we can see the essence of World Youth Day: Christ is with open arms in a gesture of love and welcome, the true center of this event, he is what young people want to find,” said Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity on March 29.
Cardinal Rylko made his remarks at the opening of the first international preparatory meeting for those organizing the July 2013 international World Youth Day. The four-day gathering is being held in the small Italian town of Rocca di Papa, which is located 15 miles southeast of Rome.
The meeting brings together 300 representatives from 98 countries and 45 international Catholic youth movements, associations and communities. Today’s session was dedicated to reviewing last year’s World Youth Day in Madrid.
Cardinal Rylko recalled “the unforgettable moments of WYD 2011 in Madrid,” which began with an opening ceremony in Plaza de Cibeles and ended six days later at an open air papal Mass at the city’s Quatro Vientos airbase.