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The 2011 World Youth Day will be much like its precedents -- "a party that the Holy Father convokes" -- but the role that networking will play in the event is sure to give it a special flair, according to its director of communications.
Santiago de la Cierva, founder and director of the "Rome Reports" TV agency and a professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, was asked by the host of '11 Youth Day, Madrid's archbishop, Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela, to be the director of communications.
De la Cierva said the first thing that came to his mind in response was, "Is there no one else?" But, kidding aside, the communications professor admitted these kinds of opportunities are like trains that pass by: "Someone tells you, 'get on board,' and with a little faith, one can realize that even though it makes your life more complicated, though there are obviously no free evenings, no weekends or vacations … deep down you realize that it's worth it."
De la Cierva says leading communication for World Youth Day will be "a fantastic adventure."
"My hair is going to go gray," he declared, "but it will be worth it because this is very much in the heart of the Church and the youth do not have many opportunities to say 'The Church is mine.'"
ZENIT spoke with de la Cierva about the challenges of World Youth Day communication and what can be expected of the Pope when it comes to reaching out to youth with their own style of communication.
ZENIT: What will be special about Madrid 2011, compared to previous World Youth Days?
De la Cierva: Madrid 2011 will have nothing new compared to the other events, except the location, the historical moment, the hopes to do very well, everything that comes with having it in a country like Spain that has 2,000 years of Christianity and where the very stones ooze the faith, ooze a centuries-old tradition. This is what will make of Madrid 2011 a very special World Youth Day.
Taking into account that we are in Europe, at the end of Europe, but Europe nonetheless, we calculate that more than a million people will come. We will probably try to reach what happened here in Rome in the year 2000, but that doesn't depend on us.
I think the particularity of the World Youth Day in Madrid is going to be precisely that it takes place in a country that has always been faithful to the Catholic Church. It is a country that has transmitted the faith to many continents; the majority of the Catholics of the whole world speak Spanish precisely because they have been evangelized by Spaniards, and we would like to recover this missionary spirit. Sometimes missionaries are thought of as older people who went to preach to foreign lands, but no, the missionaries were under 25. We would like to recover this spirit and present it to the youth of today.
Another characteristic of the Madrid World Youth Day will be networks. For the first time, we are going to have a World Youth Day in which really the fundamental means of communication will be the Internet, the social networks, not only as information but also as communication, to create communities. In Sydney, this already began, but I think this is going to be the explosion. Explosion as well of new technologies. In 2011, probably almost everyone who comes will have new generation cell phones. It will be very easy to be in contact, to receive information, take advantage of the phone, the terminals, to receive the translations of the Holy Father's words, the organizational messages, etc.
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Pope Addresses Youth of the World
“We have set our hope on the living God” (1 Tim 4:10)
My dear friends,
Next Palm Sunday we shall celebrate the twenty-fourth World Youth Day at the diocesan level. As we prepare for this annual event, I recall with deep gratitude to the Lord the meeting held in Sydney in July last year. It was a most memorable encounter, during which the Holy Spirit renewed the lives of countless young people who had come together from all over the world [you can say that again!]. The joy of celebration and spiritual enthusiasm experienced during those few days was an eloquent sign of the presence of the Spirit of Christ. Now we are journeying towards the international gathering due to take place in Madrid in 2011, which will have as its theme the words of the Apostle Paul: “Rooted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (cf. Col 2:7). As we look forward to that global youth meeting, let us undertake a path of preparation together. We take as our text for the year 2009 a saying of Saint Paul: “We have set our hope on the living God” (1 Tim 4:10), while in 2010 we will reflect on the question put to Jesus by the rich young man: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk 10:17)
Youth, a time of hope
In Sydney, our attention was focussed upon what the Holy Spirit is saying to believers today, and in particular to you, my dear young people. During the closing Mass, I urged you to let yourselves be shaped by him in order to be messengers of divine love, capable of building a future of hope for all humanity [This message really, it seems to me, is at the heart of his entire pontificate]. The question of hope is truly central to our lives as human beings and our mission as Christians, especially in these times. We are all aware of the need for hope, not just any kind of hope, but a firm and reliable hope, as I wanted to emphasize in the Encyclical Spe Salvi. Youth is a special time of hope because it looks to the future with a whole range of expectations. When we are young we cherish ideals, dreams and plans. Youth is the time when decisive choices concerning the rest of our lives come to fruition. Perhaps this is why it is the time of life when fundamental questions assert themselves strongly: Why am I here on earth? What is the meaning of life? What will my life be like? And again: How can I attain happiness? Why is there suffering, illness and death? What lies beyond death? These are questions that become insistent when we are faced with obstacles that sometimes seem insurmountable: difficulties with studies, unemployment, family arguments, crises in friendships or in building good loving relationships, illness or disability, lack of adequate resources as a result of the present widespread economic and social crisis. We then ask ourselves: where can I obtain and how can I keep alive the flame of hope burning in my heart? [How can anyone really believe that this Pope doesn't get it? He does. He understands humanity far better than many of us, and he is not afraid to address the difficult and painful questions of life that so many others do not touch. Too many youth ministers today are content with "fluff;" not Pope Benedict.]
In search of “the great hope”
Source
My dear friends,
Next Palm Sunday we shall celebrate the twenty-fourth World Youth Day at the diocesan level. As we prepare for this annual event, I recall with deep gratitude to the Lord the meeting held in Sydney in July last year. It was a most memorable encounter, during which the Holy Spirit renewed the lives of countless young people who had come together from all over the world [you can say that again!]. The joy of celebration and spiritual enthusiasm experienced during those few days was an eloquent sign of the presence of the Spirit of Christ. Now we are journeying towards the international gathering due to take place in Madrid in 2011, which will have as its theme the words of the Apostle Paul: “Rooted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (cf. Col 2:7). As we look forward to that global youth meeting, let us undertake a path of preparation together. We take as our text for the year 2009 a saying of Saint Paul: “We have set our hope on the living God” (1 Tim 4:10), while in 2010 we will reflect on the question put to Jesus by the rich young man: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk 10:17)
Youth, a time of hope
In Sydney, our attention was focussed upon what the Holy Spirit is saying to believers today, and in particular to you, my dear young people. During the closing Mass, I urged you to let yourselves be shaped by him in order to be messengers of divine love, capable of building a future of hope for all humanity [This message really, it seems to me, is at the heart of his entire pontificate]. The question of hope is truly central to our lives as human beings and our mission as Christians, especially in these times. We are all aware of the need for hope, not just any kind of hope, but a firm and reliable hope, as I wanted to emphasize in the Encyclical Spe Salvi. Youth is a special time of hope because it looks to the future with a whole range of expectations. When we are young we cherish ideals, dreams and plans. Youth is the time when decisive choices concerning the rest of our lives come to fruition. Perhaps this is why it is the time of life when fundamental questions assert themselves strongly: Why am I here on earth? What is the meaning of life? What will my life be like? And again: How can I attain happiness? Why is there suffering, illness and death? What lies beyond death? These are questions that become insistent when we are faced with obstacles that sometimes seem insurmountable: difficulties with studies, unemployment, family arguments, crises in friendships or in building good loving relationships, illness or disability, lack of adequate resources as a result of the present widespread economic and social crisis. We then ask ourselves: where can I obtain and how can I keep alive the flame of hope burning in my heart? [How can anyone really believe that this Pope doesn't get it? He does. He understands humanity far better than many of us, and he is not afraid to address the difficult and painful questions of life that so many others do not touch. Too many youth ministers today are content with "fluff;" not Pope Benedict.]
In search of “the great hope”
Source
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