WYD 2011 in Madrid, Young Canadians participate in a national gathering in the Spanish capital
Wednesday, August 17 2011
(CCCB- Ottawa)… Yesterday, August 16, 2011, for the first time in the history of Canada’s participation in World Youth Day (WYD), Canadian pilgrims had the opportunity to gather for a national celebration, at the Palacio de Desportes pavilion, along with the Canadian Bishops present in Madrid. More than 5,000 Canadian youth, 22 Bishops, and 100 priests participated. The Most Reverend Terrence Prendergast, S.J., Archbishop of Ottawa, presided at the celebration, which included a special morning prayer with music and testimonies by young Canadians. The music was provided by Famille Marie jeunesse from Quebec, PS 98 from Vancouver, and Father Robert Galea, a young Australian priest.
Father Thomas Rosica, C.S.B., coordinator of the Canadian delegation to WYD in Madrid, opened the ceremony by thanking three young Canadians who have been working for the past six months as part of the national Madrid team. Father Rosica also thanked Mr. Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, for transforming the Palacio de Deportes’ into an “oasis for pilgrims” during the Madrid’s WYD.
The ceremony was led by two youth ministers in Canada, Isabel Correa of Montreal and Daniel Moynihan of London. Marilou Bernier from Quebec and Kyle Ferguson from the Diocese of Hamilton were invited to share testimonies from their experiences at WYD 2002 in Toronto.
The Most Reverend Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec City, and the Most Reverend Richard Smith, Archbishop of Edmonton and Vice President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), greeted the participants at the celebration. The Canadian Ambassador to Spain, Mr. Graham Shantz, also welcomed the assembly at the beginning of the ceremony.
More than 500,500 young pilgrims from all over the world are currently in Madrid to participate in the 26th World Youth Day. At the invitation of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, five Canadian Bishops will serve as catechists for the young pilgrims, – three in French and two in English. The catechists are: Bishops Paul-André Durocher and Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., and Archbishops Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, J. Michael Miller, C.S.B., and Richard Smith.
Program schedule for Salt and Light Television
Salt and Light Television, Canada’s national Catholic TV network, carries live coverage of World Youth Day’s most important moments and provide a special program schedule on the catechesis sessions, as well as conduct many interviews throughout the week. Salt and Light has also created a special website (www.wydcentral.org) to keep favorite memories of WYD 2011. Father Thomas Rosica, C.S.B, Salt and Light CEO, is now in Madrid with a team of young journalists to cover the event. This coverage is available on satellite and cable television throughout the country, as well as on the Internet at www.saltandlighttv.org/ or www.seletlumieretv.org.
Photos provided by Columbia Magazine