World Youth Day preparations continue unchanged

(Feb. 20, 2013) World Youth Day (WYD) preparations for July in Brazil continue unchanged said Archbishop Orani João Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro and he welcomed the prayer with which retired Pope Benedict XVI will sustain World Youth Day, even as his successor makes the trip to Rio. The archbishop of the host city affirmed that preparations for the July 23-28 event will not be affected by Pope Benedict's resignation. He said WYD will be one of the first major events for the new pontiff, just as the Youth Day of Cologne in 2005 was one of Pope Benedict’s first events, some four months after his election to the See of Peter. The only possible changes that would be made in the new pontiff's agenda in Rio would be the places he will visit, said the prelate.
Archbishop Tempesta expressed his gratitude to Pope Benedict for having guided the Church with faith and rationality in difficult times. In regard to the possibility of his being the first host of the new pope, the prelate said that the introduction of the pontiff to the world during the WYD will be a beautiful sign of new times for Catholic youth, joyful for all, and with Pope Benedict's prayers.