(17 July, 2013) As hundreds of thousands of young Catholic pilgrims descend on Brazil
for the upcoming World Youth Day, (WYD), coordinators in Rio de Janeiro are putting
the finishing touches on preparations for up to 2.5 million people. By July 15, more
than 320,000 people had registered for the event scheduled for July 22-29. Media coordinator
Carol Castro said many pilgrims will register when they arrive, and many will participate
in the events without being registered. The countries with the greatest numbers
of pilgrims registered are Brazil, Argentina and the United States, but young people
are coming from as far away as the Philippines and Slovakia. More than 8,400 priests
from all over the globe requested credentials for the event. Approximately 5,500 journalists
have been given credentials to cover Pope Francis' first international trip. Castro
said 55 percent of registered pilgrims are women and 60 percent of those coming are
ages 19-34. About 300,000 beds were made available in family homes, sports centers
and schools in Rio. Officials said more than 270 locations are available for catechetical
session in 26 languages, including Polish, Latvian, Mandarin and Flemish. They said
60,000 volunteers, of whom 7,000 are foreigners, will be on hand during the week to
help and direct pilgrims to the events in Rio. Nearly 800 singers, dancers, actors
and musicians will be participating in the main events.