Mags GarganPreparations for World Youth Day (WYD) in Krakow next year are gathering momentum in dioceses across the country, with expectations of large numbers of young people making the pilgrimage.
Following a meeting in Maynooth with a member of the Polish WYD organising team, diocesan and religious youth ministries have begun to plan and promote their travel programmes.
Information has been sent out to Dublin parishes and Gerard Gallagher of the Office for Evangelisation said leader training will be held in August and pastoral preparation begins in September.
Maura Garrihy, Youth Ministry Director in Galway, said numbers are expected to be big next year, as Poland is much closer than the previous WYD in Brazil. “We expect a lot of Irish people to go and Polish people living here will also want to travel home for it,” she said. “For many young people it will be the first experience of seeing Pope Francis in the flesh and seeing the universality of the Church.”
Robert Norton from the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin and Naoimh Moore from Derry diocese confirmed they expect to bring a group of over 100 young people to Poland, and Dermot Kelly from the Armagh Archdiocese, which has launched a WYD logo, is aiming for about 150 pilgrims.