Rio de Janeiro, 13 July 2013: Following Madrid, the “inventor” of WYD will also be
present in a certain way in Rio de Janeiro: as of last Sunday Blessed John Paul II's
relics are in the city of Rio. They will be exposed in the major locations of World
Youth Day in Brazil. They were delivered by Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, President of
the Pontifical Council for the Laity, during the Mass celebrated on 7 July, in the
Holy Sanctuary of the Miraculous Medal in the Tijuca district, in the north of the
city.
For Pope John Paul II it is a return to Brazil's soil, where he was received
four times: from 30 June to 11 July, 1980, then on 11 June 1982, then from 12 to 21
October, 1991, and finally from 2 to 6 October, 1997, when Rio de Janeiro held the
Second World Meeting of Families.
“I bring to you”, said Cardinal Rylko, introducing
the Ceremony, “the blessing of Pope Francis, who will arrive here in a few days. For
my part I am very happy to preside over this Eucharist for the consignment of the
relics of Blessed John Paul II, who will soon be proclaimed a Saint”.
During
his stay in Brazil, Cardinal Ryłko also opened the exhibition “In the Footsteps of
Christ”, with masterpieces from Italy and the Vatican, which is on display from 9
July to 13 October at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Rio. It is, as the Cardinal
recalled, the eighth exhibition organized on the occasion of World Youth Day, and
is "concentrated" on works by the most famous artists, painters and sculptors, ranging
from the year 1400 to 1800. "Original works”, he said, “which have never been seen
before in a Latin American country”.Source: L’Osservatore Romano