THE countdown to next year’s World Youth Day (WYD08) in Sydney has reached fever pitch for Brisbane archdiocese as it hosts the Journey of the World Youth Day Cross and Icon (JCI).
Since the handover from Toowoomba diocese on August 17, thousands of locals and visitors have witnessed the extraordinary impact of these dynamic symbols of faith.
Shared faith was anticipated among the countless young people who were expected to attend the Archdiocesan Youth Day (AYD07) at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre yesterday, August 18.
The event featured a morning Mass with Archbishop John Bathersby of Brisbane, the principal celebrant among a host of other diocesan, visiting clergy and religious.
An endless array of music, drama and festival style events filled the day’s program.
Brisbane WYD Secretariat project officer Michael Hart said the AYD07 program had been specifically modelled to look and feel like a mini-WYD.
“The big reason for doing that is that it’s very difficult for people to get a picture of what a WYD is all about, as very few people have experienced it,” he said.
St Peter and Paul’s Parish, Bulimba will welcome the JCI today with Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Oudeman at 8am.
Pilgrims will process with the Cross and Icon along Charlotte and Edward Sts into the Botanical Gardens, returning to St Stephen’s Cathedral for the annual Multicultural Mass at 2pm.
Marist College, Ashgrove will host a service tonight from 6pm.
A sunrise service is being planned for tomorrow, August 20, at Main Beach on the Gold Coast with local businesses donating coffee and muffins for early risers.
On August 21 the JCI travels to Trinity College, Beenleigh and Clairvaux MacKillop College, Upper Mt Gravatt, followed by a visit to Brisbane’s Mater Children’s Hospital from 4pm.
Other locations it will travel to include St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace and St Laurence’s, South Brisbane. An all-night vigil will be held in St Stephen’s Cathedral from 7.30pm on August 24 to 4.30am the next day.
An event in City Hall is being fine-tuned for the evening of August 25.
The final three days will see the Cross and Icon visit the five northern deaneries before the handover to Rockhampton diocese at Childers on the evening of August 29.
For more information about any JCI event visit www.wydbrisbane.org.au or contact the WYD secretariat on (07) 3336 9341.
