Young Korean Catholics pose for a photo after a meeting and Holy Mass in Seoul on July 15 as part of their preparations for World Youth Day in Lisbon (Photo: Seoul Archdiocese)
By UCA News reporter
Jul 26 2023
Some 2,500 Asian Catholics, from high school students to adults in their 30s, will attend World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, with most of them coming from South Korea, the Philippines and India.
The 17 Korean dioceses are sending a total of 1,051 official delegates to the WYD, according to a communique from Seoul archdiocese.
The archdiocese alone is sending 185 delegates, including Bishop Timothy Yu Gyoung-Chon, the Episcopal Vicar for the Archdiocesan Youth Ministry, Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek, and Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, retired archbishop of Seoul.
The first group from Seoul left for Santiago, Spain on July 19 and other groups were expected to depart soon.
Other Asian nations were also sending official delegations except for Myanmar, which is not sending one due to a funding crunch and political turmoil.
India is sending a 250-member official delegation to Portugal. Altogether 900-1,000 Indians from India’s 174 dioceses are expected to attend WYD this year, a Church official said.
Around 270 official delegates from the Philippines’ 72 dioceses will attend the event this year, Philstar newspaper reported on July 17 quoting the bishops’ youth commission secretary Father Jade Licuanan.
He said some 43 unofficial delegates have sought endorsement letters from the commission chairman Bishop Rex Andrew Alarcon to apply for visas to visit Portugal on the occasion.
The unofficial delegates “would be going to the WYD on their own,” Licuanan said.
Some 45 official delegates from Indonesia and 53 from Catholic-majority Timor-Leste will join the WYD this year, Church sources confirmed.
Bangladesh Church planned to send a 23-member delegation to the event. However, 16 received visas, and the applications of the rest were rejected.
A 17-member Pakistani delegation was expected to leave for Portugal on July 29. The delegates, however, complained of visa delays.
Moreover, more than one hundred youths from Pakistan registered to attend the WYD as volunteers but failed after their visa requests were rejected.
Catholics from Seoul will participate in the Days in Dioceses in Leiria-Fatima Diocese, Portugal, and will join World Youth Day Lisbon 2023 from Aug. 1.
The Days in Dioceses precede WYD in Lisbon and are to be held from July 26-31 in 17 dioceses across Portugal.
The main goal of Days in Dioceses is to integrate young people from all over the world into the parish communities of the various dioceses of the country, giving them a better knowledge of the region that welcomes them, the local Church and its specific features, according to the WYD official site.
For several days, pilgrims will stay in family homes, parish or public facilities, so that they can have a real experience of Church, evangelization and mission.
Seoul archdiocese arranged several meetings for spiritual and cultural preparations for the youth. The final meeting was held on July 15 and concluded with a Holy Mass at the Youth Culture Center.
Bishop Yu reminded them that WYD is a “pilgrimage of faith” and asked them to be ready to “encounter uncomfortable situations” such as heat, fatigue, thirst, and hunger while living together with other pilgrims.
“If you pray gratefully to God even then by including even the uncomfortable situations in your prayer, the itinerary of the pilgrimage will be a good chance to learn life,” Yu said.
He urged the youth to “check the achievement of your goals after the pilgrimage is over.”
The dioceses of Cheongju, Daejeon, and Busan have been preparing ‘Rise Up Preparatory Encounters,’ with animation effects and a solemn Eucharistic liturgy.
Catholic youths have prepared to showcase K-pop Dance and K-food events during the WYD.
From Vietnam, Bishop Joseph Do Manh Hung, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, and Bishop Peter Nguyen Van Vien, head of the Episcopal Commission of Ministry for Youths and Children, and Father John Le Quang Viet from Ho Chi Minh City Archdiocese, secretary of the commission will attend WYD in Lisbon, according to church sources.
Father Viet is already in Lisbon to make preparations for participants.
A church official said all delegates and lay participants have to cover their expenses themselves, and the exact number of participants in unknown.
Pope John Paul II initiated World Youth Day in 1985. The week-long event is held every three years. It aims to celebrate faith through song, dance, prayer, and the sharing of experiences. – UCA News
