Race toward World Youth Day 2011 Madrid has begun,' declares Cardinal Rouco

(Oct.30,2009): The race toward World Youth Day, WYD 2011 in Spain has begun said Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela of Madrid, when he greeted a large group of young Catholics gathered at the headquarters of the organizing committee of WYD last week. Cardinal Rouco Varela addressed the youth saying, “Today begins the race towards WYD, an extraordinary event in which we will be able to experience the universality of the Church, in union with the Pope, with more than a thousand bishops from all over the world, hundreds of priests and nuns, parents and especially many young people from all over the world.” The Cardinal reminded the youth of the two great objectives of WYD: namely to promote “a great encounter of young people with the Lord, that with their faith, they might make visible the theme of WYD, ‘Rooted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith'.” The second objective, he said is “to show the world the testimony of young people in the Church, who demonstrate that they know Christ and that following Him, is the best path to give life meaning and to be truly happy.”
Cardinal Rouco encouraged those present, including leaders of the organizing committee, their collaborators and many volunteers, to carry out their tasks with joy and dedication in order to achieve the aim of Spain’s World Youth Day 2011.