Pope Francis to WYD pilgrims: see you soon!

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday tweeted his best wishes to World Youth Day pilgrims, many of whom are en route or already arrived in the host city, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “Many of you have already arrived in Rio and many more are just arriving,” he wrote via his @pontifex handle on the micro-blogging platform. He added, “We will see one another there in only three days.” More than three hundred thousand people are registered for the event, with organisers preparing for as many as two and a half million visitors.

Fr. Michael Rogers, SJ is the coordinator of English-language WYD initiatives for the Society of Jesus in the US and a member of the lead committee for the international English-language welcome centre in Brazil, which will be the hub of English-language catechesis and prayer during the first four days of WYD events, starting Tuesday, July 22^nd. Fr. Rogers, SJ, told Vatican Radio that host city Rio de Janeiro is already beginning to feel the effects of the pilgrim swell. “The city is already beginning to fill up, and you can see the green WYD pilgrim packs everywhere,” he said, adding, “I think it is going to be a wonderful four days at the centre and two days out in the field.” Listen to Chris Altieri’s extended conversation with Fr. Michael Rogers, SJ: