World Youth Day 2008

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Logo of the XXIII. World Youth Day
Pope arrival in Sydney Harbor

The XXIII. World Youth Day took place in 2008 in the Australian city of Sydney from 15th place to 20th of July. It was the first World Youth Day that took place in Australia and after the World Youth Day in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 1987 only the second in the southern hemisphere. There were more than 110,000 international guests among the 223,000 permanent participants. According to the organizer, more than 400,000 pilgrims attended the closing service. In comparison, a total of 400,000 pilgrims took part in the 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne and around 1.2 million in the closing service. The motto of the World Youth Day was:

You will receive the power of the Holy Spirit who will come down on you; and you will be my witnesses. ( Acts 1,8  EU ).

canditature

Sydney's Archbishop George Cardinal Pell had submitted Sydney's official application to the Vatican in July 2005 . Even before Sydney was officially named, the local diocese asked the director of the film The Passion of the Christ , Mel Gibson , to recreate the Passion in the form of a cross on the streets of Sydney on World Youth Day . In this way, the information leaked before it was officially reported. During the closing service of the XX. World Youth Day in Cologne, Pope Benedict XVI. the selection is officially known.

Indulgence

On World Youth Day in Sydney 2008, a decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary dated June 28, 2008 granted a complete indulgence to those who came to Sydney as pilgrims . Partial indulgences could be obtained for all who, wherever they were, prayed for the spiritual goals of this meeting and its happy outcome.

Journey of the World Youth Day Cross

With the handover of the World Youth Day Cross and the World Youth Day icon from Germans to Australian youth on April 9, 2006 after the Palm Sunday Mass on St. Peter's Square in Rome, Sydney's host role for 2008 became official. The World Youth Day Cross then traveled through Africa, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

It reached Australian soil on July 1, 2007 in the presence of Prime Minister John Howard and the Prime Minister of New South Wales , Morris Iemma . The official World Youth Day song premiered at a welcome ceremony for the World Youth Day Cross in Darling Harbor . During the remaining 12 months, the cross and icon traveled through the 28 dioceses of Australia.

program

Stage in the Southern Cross Precinct during the vigil ceremony
Randwick Racecourse, with the Sydney skyline in the background
Pope Benedict upon his arrival in Sydney Harbor

From July 10th to 14th the Days of Encounter took place in Australia and New Zealand . On July 15, World Youth Day began with the opening service on Barangaroo, which was celebrated by Sydney's Archbishop George Cardinal Pell and Curia Cardinal Stanisław Rylko . The arrival of the Pope on July 17th was celebrated with a welcome ceremony on Sydney Harbor . On July 19, a pilgrimage route led from the Shrine of the Only Australian Blessed , Mary MacKillop , over the Sydney Harbor Bridge and four other bridges over the Parramatta River to the site for the closing ceremony. The Royal Randwick Racecourse was selected for the night vigil and closing service .

Out of 18 considered locations within Sydney, the best combination was found in terms of size of the venue, unobstructed sight lines and transport of up to 600,000 expected pilgrims. In addition, Randwick Racecourse has the highest minimum temperature at night, which is also an important factor when it comes to spending the night outdoors in winter.

On the Randwick Racecourse could accommodate up to 300,000 pilgrims and about 400,000, the closing Mass could follow on the altar in direct line of sight. Another 200,000 were able to follow the fair on large video walls in the neighboring Centennial Park .

Randwick Racecourse has previously hosted major events. The Rolling Stones played here in 1973. In 1970, 1986 and 1995 papal masses were held here with Popes Paul VI. and John Paul II celebrated. Mary MacKillop was beatified at the 1995 papal mass. Pope Benedict XVI continued the tradition of papal masses on the Randwick Racecourse continue, together with the Centennial Park now Southern Cross Precinct (after the Southern Cross 's). According to the organizer, between 400,000 and 500,000 people took part in the closing fair.

Pope visit

On the occasion of the World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI visited the country and the city of Sydney for a week. For the Pope it was his first visit to Australia and for Australia the first visit by a Pope in 13 years. After arriving on Sunday, July 13, 2008, the 81-year-old recovered at the Kenthurst Study Center, an Opus Dei facility , and visited the associated zoo on Wednesday . On Thursday Benedict XVI. greeted with military honors in the garden of Governorate House and then sailed across Sydney Bay on a ship to greet the pilgrims. In his address, the Pope urged young people to stand by their faith and warned against the unbridled consumption of natural resources. After cases of child abuse by priests in Australia had recently become known, the Pope also wanted to address this issue on his trip to Australia. He ended the youth meeting with the closing mass on July 20 at the Sydney Racecourse.

World Youth Day song

The official song for World Youth Day is called Receive the Power and is sung by Guy Sebastian , the first Australian Idol winner. Sebastian wrote the song with Gary Pinto . The song was produced in collaboration with Sony BMG . In the international version, one verse is sung in Italian and one in Spanish, the bridge in French and the refrain in English.

missal

The Vatican published its own missal and sacramentary for the Pope's visit to World Youth Day 2008 as a PDF document on its website.

References

  1. a b Pope Benedict XVI thanks volunteers and leaves Australia happy and blessed ( Memento from July 29, 2008 in the web archive archive.today )
  2. a b FAQ of the World Youth Day website ( memento of October 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  3. Vatican publishes key words for the next World Youth Days on kath.net
  4. ^ Indulgence for WYD Sydney
  5. Management of World Youth Day Papal Mass at Royal Randwick Racecourse ( Memento from July 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) - Australian Jockey Cub (English)
  6. ^ Matter of opinion: The Pope in Sydney. In: Der Standard , July 17, 2008, accessed February 15, 2018.
  7. Australian Idol Wrote World Youth Day Anthem ( Memento from March 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) - Article on the official song (English)
  8. Missal and sacramentary for the Pope's visit as download (PDF; 3.28 MB)

Web links

Commons : World Youth Day 2008  - collection of images, videos and audio files