Week of missions to precede World Youth Day in Rio

(April 11, 2012) World Youth Day Rio 2013 will be preceded by a week of missions throughout Brazil, before hundreds of thousands of pilgrims arrive for the global youth event next summer. Father Jefferson Gonsalves, director of pre-World Youth Day activities, said the country's traditional “Days in the Dioceses” will instead be a Missions Week to be held July 17-20 in 2013. The weeks aims to give young people the chance to participate in spiritual activities, works of solidarity with local communities, as well as missionary and cultural events. Organizer Raphael Fritz said families will provide hospitality for the young people taking part in the Missions Week to give them a more authentic experience of what life is like locally.