Latest media releases from WYD Madrid 

The WYD website for 2011 has put up a video clip with excerpts from the recent press conference held by Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela of Madrid. At the conference the website was presented to the press by Yago de la Cierva, director of communications.

In a separate press release Cardinal Varela explained that most of the costs of the 2011 event will be covered by companies who will be the official patrons of WYD. As well, each WYD pilgrim will contribute 10 euros to a solidarity fund to finance the trip for young people from Third World countries.

Official Website for World Youth Day Madrid

WYD 2011 in Madrid now has an official website! Click here to access the site - the website is only in Spanish at the moment, and will be translated into other languages shortly. Look out for the link to Xt3!

And watch this video to see a brief news report on the launch of the website.

Official schedule of WYD 2011 events

The WYD 2011 website has released the details for the official events for WYD Madrid. As the website is in Spanish, here is the schedule in English:

11^th-14^th August: Days in the Diocese

15^th August: On the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, each Diocese participating the ‘Days in the Diocese’ will celebrate a Mass to send off the pilgrims heading to Madrid to begin WYD 2011

16^th August: The opening Mass for WYD 2011 will be at the Plaza de la Cibeles in Madrid, in the afternoon. After Mass, the Youth Festival will start, with a variety of concerts and cultural events for pilgrims.

17^th August: The first Catechesis session will occur in the morning, followed by more Youth Festival events in the afternoon.

18^th August: In addition to the Catechesis and Youth festival events that will occur that day, pilgrims will be welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to Madrid!

19^th August: The Stations of the Cross will occur in the afternoon, starting from the Plaza de la Cibeles and continuing through the streets of Madrid. The Catechesis and Youth Festival events will also continue on this day.

20^th August: Pilgrims will make their way to the Cuatro Vientos airfield, where they will be joined by Pope Benedict XVI for an evening vigil. They pilgrims will stay the night in the airfield.

21^st August: The closing Mass for WYD 2011, to be celebrated by the Pope, will occur in the Cuatro Vientos airfield. Millions are expected to attend this final Mass.

WYD Madrid registrations open in June 2010

Pilgrims will be able to register online for World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, from the 1st June 2010. The WYD Office will release the details of the registration packages, closer to this date.

In the mean time, get your group organised for WYD 2011 by starting a group on iActiv8!

WYD Madrid Director of Communications reflects on past WYDs

Yago de la Cierva, the Director of Communications for World Youth Day Madrid, 2011, speaks here about the history of World Youth Day, and his involvement with the events from the very beginning. This video, which is in Spanish, explains that World Youth Days have changed and grown with time, yet have remained true to the purpose intended by the founder of WYD, John Paul II.

Business Leaders show support for WYD Madrid

Spanish business leaders got together on Tuesday with Madrid’s archbishop, Cardinal Antonio María Rouco, to announce their support for World Youth Day 2011.

They met in a hotel in Madrid, the Villa Magna, under the auspices of a foundation (Fundación Madrid Vivo) that was formed to enable partners to support the event. The meeting was convened by Emilio Botín, the president of Banco Santander, one of Europe’s largest banks, and César Alierta, the president of Spain’s telephone company, Telefónica.

For more information you can read about it -  in Spanish here and here.

New footage of the WYD Cross in Madrid

The Journey of the World Youth Day Cross is one of the most touching experiences of WYD, as it brings the WYD spirit to pilgrims young and old from around the world. Watch this video to see striking footage of the WYD Cross, as it travels through Madrid!

Madrid prepares to welcome Pilgrims

Following the blessing of the WYD headquarters, the organization of big event is about to begin. Mgr. Gregorio Roldán, delegate for youth pastoral work of the Archdiocese of Madrid, has said that the WYD team hopes that as a result of their efforts, "all the young people who come -- having at their disposal all the means that the Church and civil society are preparing -- may be pilgrims who come to meet the Lord.”

Click here to read more, and to watch video footage straight from Madrid!

WYD Madrid now multi-lingual on Facebook

The facebook fan pages for WYD Madrid are now in 8 languages, so you can now choose to join the Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese or the Arabic page!

Two Objectives of WYD 2011

While addressing the youth during the blessing of the headquarters of the World Youth Day 2011 organizing committee last Friday,  Cardinal Rouco Varela shared the 2 objectives for WYD:

Firstly, 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'.”

And secondly, “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".

Click here for the full article.