Andrews Family

The Holy Father has already arrived in Australia for World Youth Day 2008. My baby brother Zachary, (who is 19), is one of the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims! I am so excited for him to experience this great opportunity to grow in faith, travel the world, make new friends and immerse himself in the truly “catholic” (meaning universal/global) nature of our Church. May you be blessed richly by your experiences, Zach, and may you share with all of us the gifts you receive!

For those of us back home, there is a great blog at Pope2008.com to follow along and those with EWTN can watch live (and encore) presentations of the major WYD events.

And for those unfamiliar with WYD, here is a little background (copied from the official WYD 2008 website):

World Youth Day (WYD) is the largest youth event in the world and will be held in Sydney from Tuesday 15 to Sunday 20 July 2008.

WYD is a week-long series of events attended by the Pope and hundreds of thousands of young people from all over the globe. It has become the largest single mobilization of young people in the world.

The week culminates in a Final Mass celebrated by the Pope on the last day (the actual World Youth Day). Typically, it is the largest event of the week and, overseas, has drawn millions of people.

Theme for WYD08

World Youth Day is an invitation from the Pope to the youth of the world to celebrate their faith around a particular theme. The WYD08 theme, received from Pope Benedict XVI is:

‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.’ Acts 1:8

This passage occurs after the death and resurrection of Jesus, just before his ascension to the Father. It represents the birth of the Church.

Key WYD08 Statistics

• Up to 225,000 registered pilgrims are expected to take part in WYD08 events each day, including 125,000 international visitors.
• 100,000 Australian pilgrims are expected, including 40,000 from greater Sydney
• An estimated 8,000 volunteers will assist
• An estimated 2,000 clergy will be present
• An estimated 700 Cardinals and Bishops will be present
• Between 3,000 - 5,000 media are expected to cover the event
• 3.5 million meals will be served to pilgrims
• 100,000 will sleep in 700 schools and parishes
• Up to 40,000 will be billeted as part of the HomeStay program
• Approximately 20,000 will stay in Sydney hotels. The remainder will make their own arrangements.
• Up to 500,000 people are expected to attend the Final Mass at Randwick Racecourse and Centennial Park (which is open to all)
• The four official WYD08 languages are: English, French, Italian and Spanish