FROM THE 16 – 21ST AUGUST, TWENTY YOUNG PEOPLE FROM JERSEY WILL REPRESENT THE ISLAND AT THE 20TH WORLD YOUTH DAY IN COLOGNE, GERMANY. Twenty young people representing the Island's Catholic Churches will be travelling to Cologne, Germany in August for the 2005 World Youth Days.  | | Canon France will travel to Germany in August |
They will be travelling together with four adults who include Canon Nicolas France, the Catholic Dean in Jersey, to the international gathering of young Catholics at which 800,000 young pilgrims are expected to congregate. The local young people, whose ages range from 14 to 18, are extremely eager to attend. “We’re hoping to meet new people and to experience how different cultures celebrate their faith,” says Christina Raimondo, 15, who is one of the young people travelling. The World Youth Days are the 9th event of their kind to be celebrated as major international festival in one place. The vast number of participants of the World Youth Days will travel from over 120 out of a possible 193 countries around the world to attend; a figure which covers most of the countries of the globe. “There are always people who speak good English so I don’t think that should be a problem,” said James Villalard, 15. The World Youth Days last for just under a week in the Archdiocese of Cologne and incorporate prayer, music, theatre, fun, contemplation and reflection in an international celebration of faith and devotion to Catholicism. The events are all attended by Pope Benedict XVI, whose first foreign trip of his Papacy will be to his home country of Germany for these World Youth Days. “I was looking forward to seeing John Paul II as people have told me that he’s very welcoming and down-to-earth,” said Christina, “but we have a new Pope, so this is a new beginning and I’m happy to celebrate mass with Pope Benedict.“  | | James Villalard |
“All the churches in the Island are sending someone to Cologne with us,” added Mrs. Maleret, the organiser of the trip, “and they are all keen to send their young people to Germany for the event. The Youth Days will give the Island's young people a chance to meet the 600 different Bishops and Cardinals from around the globe who are expected to attend, and to ask them questions about their faith and the traditions of Catholicism from all walks of life. 4,000 journalists from around the world will also be attending to report on this major event, which will be broadcast to countries throughout the world. The event is initiated by the “Days of Encounter” from the 11th to 15th August at which guests from all over the world are invited to meet young German Catholics and experience German culture. The most prominent events of the festival are the opening mass on 16th August, the welcome celebration with Pope Benedict XVI on 18th August and the vigil and final mass at Sankt Augustin-Hangelar on 20th and 21st August. German families have been invited to house the World Youth Day participants, and many festival participants are grouped with their dioceses and hosted by families; emphasising hospitality as a major theme within the festival. The Jersey group have not yet received their passes into the World Youth Days, so they are not sure of their accommodation. They are hoping they will be hosted with German families, if not they will sleep on gym floors in schools scattered around Cologne as all the Youth Hostels are fully booked for the week. Mrs. Maleret told us, “We’re not sure where we’re staying yet, but we get our passes for the World Youth Days this week which give us free transport through Cologne, food and accommodation. I’ve been to Taizé [An ecumenical Christian community] before, and I’ve heard that it’s quite similar to the World Youth Days so I’m sure it’ll be a good experience for all of us.” | "I’m really excited for everyone to have this new experience; it’ll be really meaningful I think" | | Christina Raimondo |
All of the Jersey participants travelling want to develop their faith and understanding of the Catholic Church in communities other then their own. As James explained, “Jersey can sometimes be isolated from England,” he added, “some people I’ve talked to don’t even know where Jersey is, so I think it will be good to get us involved in the International side of things.” The 20,000 volunteers from around the World needed to oversee the running of the World Youth Days will each ensure that examples of their own traditions are included in the festival. The World Youth Days were inaugurated by Pope John Paul II in 1984 and were held in Rome when he invited young Catholic people from all backgrounds and cultures to come together and to share their faith with other young people from all over the world. Since then, young pilgrims have travelled to Buenos Aires (1987), Santiago de Compostela (1989), Czestochowa (1991), Denver (1993), Manila (1995), Paris (1997) and Rome (2000). Pope John Paul II always had a special interest in young Catholics and had a particular bond with all of them around the world. He loved children, and the first baby he kissed as a Pope became a nun. He devoted much of his ministry to the young, and many hope that Pope Benedict XVI will do the same.  | | Christina Raimondo |
Although John Paul II will not be present at the World Youth Days 2005, Catholics believe he will be there with the young people of the World in spirit. Many have said that at the last World youth day in Toronto there was a sense that that would be his last visit to the World Youth Days. It was a very emotional experience when he celebrated his final mass with the youth. Pope John Paul II was so in touch with the young people that he was given the title “Pope of the youth”. The event is generally held every two years at different locations somewhere in the world. 2002 saw the 17th World Youth Days in Canada, Toronto where over 700,000 pilgrims united to celebrate their devotion to God, this year even more are expected to attend. Manila saw the largest gathering of young pilgrims to the World Youth Days in 1995, when up to four million people travelled to the Philippines for the event. “I’m really excited for everyone to have this new experience; it’ll be really meaningful I think,” said Christina. The group travel on 15th August and return on the 22nd. | 
