YOUTH DAYS VERY WORLDLY
FR. PAWEŁ RYTEL-ANDRIANIK, A SPOKESMAN OF THE POLISH EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE
The meeting of the youth with pope Francis in Cracow will be a breakthrough meeting on various levels.
From the point of media view – these will be the first World Youth Days ‘social’ that is, experienced also on social portals on an unknown scale so far. If one assumes that there will be about 2 million young people, each of whom has got approximately 500 friends on Facebook, it means that information and experiences from the World Youth Days will be able to get to even a milliard of people. Moreover, a lot of internet users use other social portals such as Twitter or Snapchat. Beside that reports will reach to them via radio and TV. So, it is the biggest chance in history of Poland not only to promote our country, but also share faith of people young in spirit. Also St. John Paul II belonged to such people, who during the World Youth Days in 2000 in Rome said: ‘He who lives among wolves learns to howl’.
The World Youth Days is a particular event also for the reason that it will be attended by over 1000 bishops from the world. It will have been the biggest congregation of bishops in the world since the times of the Second Vatican Council.
The sign of particular friendliness of the Holy Father Francis towards Poland and Poles as well as the youth from all over the world is the time of his stay in our country. So far pope Francis has been on various continents, but in Europe he has not spent a full day outside the borders of Italy. It will have been the first visit during which the Holy Father will have been staying somewhere for a few days.
In nearly 2 months, at this time, we will have an occasion to experience the meetings with our pope Francis who used to say many times that he was glad about the possibility of his visiting Poland and that he was waiting for the World Youth Days.
AA
„Niedziela” 23/2016