EUROPE/SPAIN - World Youth Day is also a missionary event

Madrid (Agenzia Fides) - This week Madrid is "the world capital for the youth" gathered from all over the world to attend World Youth Day and to show their love to God and the Church. If most of them come from countries with ancient Christian tradition, we are bound to see young people from Africa, Asia, Oceania, where Christians are a small minority. Even the missionary commitment therefore is present in this event: several missionaries have accompanied young people to Madrid from different places where they work. "Madrid lives an experience of the Church, which is nothing but an experience of universality, catholicity, and also mission-the ultimate reason for the Church, today and always", writes the Diocesan Board of Missions of the Archdiocese of Madrid, on welcoming the young people from all over the world and highlighting the missionary activities promoted during the days of World Youth Day.
A Missionary Exhibition articulated on three forms of missionary cooperation (spiritual, economic and personal) is open from 16 to 20 August, from 10 am to 9pm at the parish of "Sagrado Corazón de Jesús" in Madrid. In Parque del Retiro, always from16 to 20 August, the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) have set up a booth dedicated to vocations in which you can make contact with missionaries, and with the different institutions that have been created for the mission ad gentes . It is also possible to know the activities of the PMS in Spain and other countries, in addition to its initiatives. Also in the parish of "Sagrado Corazón de Jesús" in Madrid you can take part, from 16 to 20 August, at different hours, in a moment of missionary prayer so that young people can spiritually join the missionaries around the world to proclaim the Gospel. The institutions and missionary realities have organized these moments of prayer that will be in different languages. On Friday, August 19 there will be a "Missionary International Meeting" where all the young people from all nations present are invited at WYD and who are already committed to the mission in some way or interested in knowing more through songs, prayers, testimonies, linguistic group workshops. "It will be a celebration of the universality of the Church Mission Ad Gentes". The "diary" regarding the missionary aspect of World Youth Day will be available on a special blog. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 17/08/2011)