Preparations for Rio World Youth Day proceeding well

(April 02, 2012) Preparations for next year’s World Youth Day (WYD) scheduled from July 23-28 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are proceeding very well, officials in charge of the meet said on Monday in the Vatican. A review of the 28^th World Youth Day on the theme, “Go and Make Disciples of All Nations”, was presented at a press conference in the Vatican on Monday. Cardinal Stanisław Rylko, President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Laity, that is overall in charge of the event, expressed great satisfaction with the progress being made for the international meet and particularly noted the enthusiasm with which the young people are welcoming the World Youth Day Cross throughout Brazil’s 276 dioceses. He also commended the cooperation from Brazil’s authorities, such as Rio’s state governor and the mayor of Rio. Archbishop Orani Joao Tempesta of Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro said that since the announcement on August 11, 2011, of Rio de Janeiro as the venue of the next WYD, an official website at rio2013.com has been active, and now is being made available in 5 languages. Besides, its FaceBook and Twitter social sites have already received over 600,000 hits. While the official WYD logo has been chosen from among 200 entries, the anthem is being shortlisted from among 180 entries. Archbishop Joao Tempesta estimates some 60,000 volunteers would be needed for the international gathering, but so far over 16,000 have subscribed.