We are colleting documentation of the Sixth World Youth Day in Czestochowa in 1991
At last the Church in Europe can freely breathe both lungs. […] The Old Continent counts on you, dear young people of the European East and West, to build this ‘common home’ from which we expect a future built on solidarity and peace. (From the homily of the Holy Father John Paul II delivered at Jasna Gora on 15 August 1991)
Referring to the approaching beatification of the Servant of God John Paul II and the 20th anniversary of the World Youth Day in Czestochowa where John Paul II met young people from all over the world on 14-15 August 1991, the editorial board of ‘Niedziela’ is appealing to all who were involved in any way in the organisation of that event to send memorabilia and other documents. The Sixth World Youth Day in Czestochowa was called the meeting between the East and the West. For many young people who visited Poland then, especially from the countries of the communist block, John Paul II and Poland were symbols of freedom and solidarity. It was in our Homeland that young people felt the power of communal experience of faith, freedom and they were charmed by their encounters with John Paul II. For us, Poles, welcoming one million and a half pilgrims in private houses, monasteries, schools or church facilities and organising their stay in Czestochowa and Poland, were a unique challenge. There were photos, amateur films, letters of thanksgiving, testimonies, entrance tickets, pages from diaries and journals, traces of friendship and contacts left after those meetings. And the editorial board of ‘Niedziela’ appeals to you to share these materials. They will be catalogued and made available on our web page www.niedziela.pl, and some will be published in ‘Niedziela’ and perhaps in a book. We will appreciate your sending these materials by regular post or electronic mail – our postal address is: Redakcja ‘Niedzieli’ 3. Maja Street 12, 42-200 Czestochowa, with the note: World Youth Day in Czestochowa, sdmczestochowa@niedziela.pl, giving your name and address and consent to publish the enclosed materials on the different fields of the Catholic Weekly ‘Niedziela.’ You can also phone us: +4834 365-19-17, extension 339 – Anna Cichoblazinska.
"Niedziela" 9/2011