Registrations have just opened, but there are already 350 young adults from Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains counting down to their International World Youth Day (WYD) pilgrimage.
In 200 days, they will join 3,500 peers from Australia and in excess of one million pilgrims from around the world as they travel to Poland to see Pope Francis.
The Diocese of Parramatta (the Catholic Church in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains) is leading the group of 16-35 year old pilgrims to the 14th annual WYD to be held this year in Krakow, Poland during the last week of July.
Whilst on pilgrimage, the young adults can expect to see Pope Francis, deepen their faith and meet other pilgrims from around the world.
James Camden, Director of Catholic Youth, Diocese of Parramatta, is helping organise two pilgrimages for the Diocese and believes the event will be life changing for many of the attendees.
“World Youth Day will be a fantastic, life changing event for many pilgrims.
“Pilgrims can choose two paths to World Youth Day.
“One pilgrimage is via Bohol Island, Philippines, devastated by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in 2013. Here pilgrims will work alongside youth teaching, mentoring, painting, preparing vegetable gardens, feeding malnourished children, completing minor repairs and opening a learning centre partly funded by the Diocese of Parramatta.
“They can also retrace the life of Saint John Paul II, who was Pope from 1978-2005, through his homeland of Poland. They can join us as we journey from Warsaw towards Krakow through all the places Saint John Paul II loved and lived,” he said.
For more information, to register or to join these pilgrims visit www.parrawyd.org.
Media inquiries — Joseph Younes, Director of Communications, (02) 8838 3435 or mobile: 0416 619 500,
About WYD
World Youth Day is a Catholic event for youth to meet the Pope and strengthen their faith. Founded by Saint John Paul II in 1984, WYD draws millions of young people from across the globe. The city of Sydney hosted WYD in 2008.
About the Diocese of Parramatta
The Diocese of Parramatta is the Catholic Church in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains.
It spans one of the fastest-growing areas of Australia, incorporating the greater Western Sydney area from Parramatta to Blackheath and from Richmond to Warragamba. It is home to 330,000 Catholics in an area of 1,050,000 people.
The Diocese hosts 47 parishes and churches, educates over 45,000 students across its 83 schools, employs over 5,000 staff and cares for thousands of people in need through its social services arm, CatholicCare Social Services.
The Diocese of Parramatta is the fifth-largest Catholic Diocese in Australia.
(A press release from the Diocese of Parramatta)