There are those who come from Mexico, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, South Korea or Kuwait. Pilgrims from 19 countries will be in the Algarve, from the 26th to the 31st of July, for Dias na Diocese, a kind of appetizer for World Youth Day. The event, which takes place in Lisbon, will also be attended by around 1000 young people from the Algarve.
The days of João Costa, coordinator of the Diocesan Organizing Committee (COD) of the Algarve, have been “spent between meetings”.
It is he who leads this structure, created in 2019, which has a great objective: to prepare for participation in the World Youth Day, which runs from 2 to 6 August, in Lisbon, with the presence of Pope Francis.
In conversation with Sul Informação, João explains that there are two main areas in preparation: the journey of the Algarve people to WYD and the reception of the pilgrims who will spend six days in the Algarve, even before the WYD.
Let's start at the end.
From the 26th to the 31st of July, around 2700 young people will be in the Algarve, coming from all over the world. Literally.
There will be pilgrims from Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Philippines, Madagascar, Uruguay, Zimbabwe, South Korea, Mozambique, Mariana Islands, Canada, Poland, Slovenia, Kuwait, Germany, Italy, France, Denmark and Spain.
«We weren't expecting so much diversity», recognizes João Costa.
The pilgrims will be divided into four reception centers in Faro, Loulé, Tavira and Portimão.
The center of activities in Portimão was in charge of the Chemin-Neuf community, which will hold the world meeting of its movement there with its own program and logistics – and the presence of around 4 young people who join the 2700 hosted by the Diocese.
Em Faro, Loulé and Tavira, the activities are the responsibility of the Diocesan Organizing Committee.
Pilgrims will be accommodated both in collective spaces (schools and pavilions) and in host family homes.
Registration, moreover, for those who want to be a host family remain open.
«The idea is that, even before they are in Lisbon, these people can get to know the Diocese and become Algarvians... at least for a week», jokes João Costa.
He, who has already been to World Youth Day in Krakow (2016), says that many of these pilgrims also want to see how “the faith is lived in a predominantly Christian country”.
“We are often unaware that the Catholic faith is not the main one in other countries. In Denmark, for example, only 5% of the population is Catholic and there have been pilgrims who said they wanted to come to Portugal to also understand what it's like to live in a predominantly Christian country», says João Costa.
During these days, there will be various programs that include prayers, cultural activities, sports, a typical summer ball and moments of fraternization.
One of the highlights will be a mass with Bishop D. Manuel Neto Quintas, at Estádio Algarve, on the 30th, with all the pilgrims… and the people from the Algarve who will also participate in WYD.
According to João Costa, there will be 970 young people from the Algarve to participate, with the Diocese, in this unprecedented event in Portugal, practically from all parishes in the Algarve.
«There may be even more that go autonomously. These are the ones who signed up, who are organized with us», explains the coordinator.
One of João Costa's right-hand men in the organization of WYDs in the Algarve has been Father António de Freitas. As an assistant to the COD, the priest says that accompanying this turmoil “has been very beautiful”.
«We see young people excited, willing to participate. There is the benefit that, as an Algarve church, we have the commitment of many people. It turns out to be an opportunity for Christian communities to rejuvenate themselves », she considers.
Father António de Freitas, who has already participated in three World Youth Days in 2000 (Rome), 2005 (Cologne) and 2011 (Madrid), sees this as a «great challenge for the Diocese».
«I think that more than showing that the Church is alive, it is a moment in which the Church itself realizes this. We are not going to be closed, we are going to the street. Having an activity of this magnitude, having so many people come… turns out to be a shock », she says.
What is certain is that the event has also been surrounded by controversy due to the costs it will entail, namely the construction of the altar-stage that will receive Pope Francis, next to the Trancão River, in Lisbon.
For Father António de Freitas, «there are things that can be said, with some reason, that are news, but there are others that, no matter how well they run, there would always be an interest in seeking out the negative or controversial points».
But the seed for these WYDs, believes the parish priest, has been sown.
«Even if, for some reason, there was now no Journey, the seed was already here, in the Algarve Church, both for its dynamism and for its relations with the outside world. This opens us up to others and also allows us to revive our faith experience. The post-journey will be a challenge », he concludes.
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