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July 2008: World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia
 
The first World Youth Day was held in Rome 22 years ago. Started by Pope John Paul II, World Youth Days have since then been celebrated in cities around the world with hundreds of thousands to millions of young people in attendance at each event. Pope John Paul II wanted young people from various cultures to celebrate their faith and be excited about it. He attended each World Youth Day and his successor, Pope Benedict XVI has maintained the tradition. He will be attending the Final Mass at this year's World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia.
Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate Final Mass at the Sydney World Youth Day
This year's World Youth Day starts on July 15th and ends on July 20th. Preparations for the event are already revealing the strong bonds of community in the Church. Eight thousand volunteers have signed on to help with the running of WYD-Sydney. Thousands of Australian families have opened their homes to World Youth Day pilgrims from around the world. And up to half a million faithful are expected at Pope Benedict's Final Mass at Randwick Racecourse and Centennial Park.
Young Australian Catholics are already in the spirit for World Youth Day
Every WYD falls under a theme. This year's WYD theme is from Acts 1:8: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses." As is pointed out in the 2008 World Youth Day website, the passage occurs right after Jesus' resurrection and before His ascension to the Father. It marks the birth of the Church and should always be kept in mind by Catholics from around the world. We cannot take our faith for granted and must bear witness to Jesus with the excitement of the early Christians from 2000 years ago.
On another note, should you be interested in finding Conventual Franciscan communities in Australia during the Sydney World Youth Day, you can do so by visiting their website.
And to get a more personal sense of the journey to World Youth Day and the event itself, please visit the Tall Tales blog.
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