Spanish priest says planning begins now for World Youth Day 2011 in Spain

(22 July, 2008) Less than a day after Pope Benedict XVI announced in Australia on Sunday that Madrid will host the next World Youth Day in 2011, Catholics in Spain have started to prepare for the great event. Father Francisco Manrique, a youth minister at St. Michael of Fuencarral Parish in Madrid, said the announcement is a necessary spiritual injection for Spanish youth. The priest,who also plans to the lead youth Committee preparing for the gathering said - “The expectation is enormous and our preparation, interest and excitement starts today. I expect double, triple the number of young people that were in Sydney to be here in three years,” he added. According to estimates, more than 350 thousand attended Sydney’s July 15 to 20 World Youth Day. In remarks to Spanish media, immediately following the July 20 announcement, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela of Madrid, president of the Spanish bishops' conference, said the decision is of exceptional value to the church in Spain, and will benefit Spanish society and culture. He told the Spanish radio station COPE, that “ organizing the upcoming event will be a challenge but also another chapter - new, fresh and joyful." The cardinal added that logistical planning was not as important as spiritual preparation for the gathering.