Young people go to Sydney to celebrate with the Pope

Forty young people from the Archdiocese of Liverpool are travelling to Sydney next Monday, 7 July, to celebrate World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI. They will be attending the biggest youth event in the world which will draw the largest number of international visitors to Australia for a single event and is expected to create the biggest gathering of people in the country's history. The World Youth Day Pilgrimage takes place in Sydney from Tuesday 15 July until Sunday 23 July with the highlight being the visit of Pope Benedict XVI who arrives on Thursday 17 July and who will celebrate the closing Mass on Sunday 20 July which half a million young people are expected to attend at Randwick Racecourse.

Prior to travelling to Sydney from 10-14 July Liverpool's pilgrims will be taking part in voluntary community projects in the area of Maitland and Newcastle, a little over 100 miles north of Sydney. Staying in the local community they will be working on parish projects, attending a social justice event and a diocesan gathering with 5,000 other young pilgrims. They will also have the opportunity to socialise at a parish barbeque.

Travelling with Animate Youth Ministries each young person has had to raise approximately £2,000 for the trip and fundraising has taken many forms including a sponsored bike ride to Lourdes (the Marian Shrine in the South of France); barn dances; raffles; selling World Youth Day pens on market stalls; table and baking fairs; race nights; and Australian themed costume parties. Generous donations from individuals, parishes and Catholic organisations have also gone towards the trip.

People from throughout the Archdiocese will assemble to bid farewell to the travellers next Sunday evening, 6 July, when the Most Reverend Patrick Kelly, Archbishop of Liverpool, will celebrate a Departure Mass at St Mary's, Lowe House, St Helens, at 6.30 pm. This will be an opportunity for interviews, photographs and filming. Also attending the Mass will be 450 young people who, later in the month, will be travelling to Lourdes to act as voluntary helpers on the annual Archdiocesan Pilgrimage.

Archbishop Patrick Kelly says: 'Communion means both our communion with the Body and Blood of our Lord in the Mass; it also means our communion with one another in his Body the Church. Communion in both inseparable senses will surely be strengthened for all those who go as pilgrims to Australia to participate in the gathering of young people with the Holy Father at the Lord's Table.'

The pilgrims leave for Sydney from St Mary's, Lowe House, at 5.00 am on Monday morning, 7July and return to St Helens at 10.00 pm on Wednesday 23 July.

The young people have been preparing for World Youth Day for over a year now and with only a week to go Siobhan Morrison from Bootle says: 'I am extremely excited about going to World Youth Day and I am looking forward to meeting the other pilgrims from all over the world. This is a once in a lifetime experience to learn about other cultures from people my own age and to represent my town and city at such a huge international event.'

Peter Jones from Warrington says: 'I feel privileged to be going with so many Catholics from throughout the world to share the fundamental principles of my faith and to share, to learn and to strengthen my personal relationship with God.'

The pilgrims are hoping to report back on their activities as two of the group: Lizzi Horridge and Rick Brewin have been trained to act as Press Officers for the event. Audio and professionally produced video material will be available for download whilst the pilgrims are in Sydney. Reports and pictures will also be available via email. Details from Peter Heneghan (contact as above).

World Youth Day gathers young people from around the world to build bridges of friendship and hope between continents, peoples and cultures. It was established by Pope John Paul II in 1986 as an annual event to reach out to the next generation of Catholics. The first World Youth Day was held in Rome where it is celebrated every year at a Diocesan level and a major international celebration is held every 2-3 years in a different host city. Recent World Youth Day Pilgrimages have been held in Manila, Rome, Toronto and Cologne

Pilgrims are available for interview and pictures for further information contact:

Peter Heneghan

Tel: 0151 522 1007; Email: p.heneghan@rcaol.co.uk

Further information about World Youth Day is on the official website:

http://www.wyd2008.org

A list of pilgrims and a brief timetable can be found below.

For a media factsheet about World Youth Day 2008 click here.

ARCHDIOCESE OF LIVERPOOL

WORLD YOUTH DAY PILGRIMS 2008

Sarah Beatty Crosby St Benet's, Netherton

Claire Betteridge Douglas, Isle of Man St Mary of the Isle

Rick Brewin St Helens Animate Youth Ministries

Craig Connolly Widnes St Bede's

Chiara Cottrell-Boyce Crosby St Joseph's, Blundellsands

Helen Currie St Helens Animate Youth Ministries

Nicola Dobson Douglas, Isle of Man St Mary of the Isle

Samuel Erskine Crosby St Edmund of Canterbury, Waterloo

Siobhan Fearon Crosby St Helen's, Crosby

Dominic Ferrari Crosby St Joseph, Blundellsands

Michael Fletcher Runcorn Our Lady, Mother of the Saviour

Amy Horridge Skelmersdale St Richard's

Elizabeth Horridge Skelmersdale St Richard's

Peter Jones Warrington St Benedict's

Andrew Kay Wigan St Aidan's

Helen Kelly Liverpool St John Vianney

Christopher Kelly Liverpool St John Vianney

Nicola Keoghan Widnes St John Fisher

Eve Kinsella Huyton St Margaret Mary's

Rebecca Kissack Onchan, Isle of Man St Anthony's, Onchan

Michael Lakey Aintree Holy Rosary

Geraldine Lamb Castletown, Isle of Man St Mary of the Isle

Alison Lamb Castletown, Isle of Man St Mary of the Isle

Elizabeth Mackrell Runcorn Our Lady, Mother of the Saviour

Faye Madden Huyton St Margaret Mary's

Lauren McDermott Melling St Kentigern

Siobhan Morrison Bootle St Robert Bellarmine

Richard Netherwood St Helens Animate Youth Ministries

Stacey Newson Isle of Man St Mary of the Isle

Clare Oliver Liverpool Christ the King

Maria Pleydell St Helens Animate Youth Ministries

Benjamin Roose Crosby St Joseph, Blundellsands

Fergus Tantun Ormskirk St Anne's, Ormskirk

Sophie Tickle St Helens St Julie

Benjamin Ward Leyland St Mary's

Tom Wellens St Helens St Austin

Chaplains:

Rev Stephen Pritchard: Archdiocesan Youth Chaplain

Rev Michael Crilly

Rev Matthew Nunes

Rev Brendan Rice

World Youth Day 2008 Programme of Events

Tuesday 15 July

Opening Mass of welcome celebrated by Cardinal George Pell of Sydney and Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko of the Vatican, followed by a concert of welcome

Wednesday 16 – Friday 18 July

Catechesis (teaching) sessions every morning and Youth festival events in afternoon/evening

Thursday 17 July

Arrival and Welcome of Pope Benedict XVI

Friday 18 July

Stations of the Cross: a re-enactment of the last moments of Jesus' life

Saturday 19 July

Pilgrimage walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Randwick Racecourse (eastern suburbs of Sydney)

Evening Vigil with Pope Benedict XVI

Sleep-out under the stars

Sunday 20 July

Final Mass with Pope Benedict XVI at Randwick Racecourse and concluding events

Ends

2 July 2008