By Matters India Reporter
Cebu, April 25, 2019: More than 16,000 pilgrims are attending this week the Philippines’ largest gathering of Catholic youth in Cebu, Southern Philippines.
Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu welcomed the delegates to the upcoming National Youth Day (NYD) 2019 being held in Cebu, April 23-28.
“We are happy and we feel privileged to be the host for the National Youth Day this coming April 23 to 28,” Palma said.
Palma expressed hope for a peaceful, memorable and spiritually-fruitful gathering.
“Together, let us pray, like Mary, that we may realize that we are all servants of the Lord, servants who are called to bring and share God’s peace and joy,” he said.
The National Youth Day 2019 is being organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), through the Episcopal Commission on Youth.
More than 15, 000 youths are expected to attend the NYD 2019 that which is being held in Cebu for the first time since the activity was conceived in 1986.
Papal Nuncio Archbishop Gabriele Caccia will be present starting April 27 where he will interact with young participants.
More than 30 members of the Philippine bishops’ conference led by its president, Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao, are to attend the event.
While 11,692 pilgrims formally registered, the figure could reach to as many as 18,000 with the participation of priests, nuns, volunteers, and unregistered locals especially at the concluding Mass to be presided over by Archbishop Caccia.
At least 52 parishes in the Archdiocese of Cebu are set to host the gathering.
Nine festival sites are being organized to conduct different activities in line with the event.
Cebu’s hosting of the event also coincides with the Church’s observance of the Year of the Youth in 2019, which is part of the CBCP’s preparation for the fifth centenary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.
Cebu City is being divided into two festival sites, one in the north at the International Eucharistic Congress Convention Center Cebu and another in the south at the University of San Jose Recoletos Gym in Barangay Basak.
Three of the seven other festival sites outside Cebu City will be held in the southern area of Metro Cebu (Talisay, Minglanilla, and Naga gymnasiums), while four festivals will be held in the north (Liloan Municipal Gym, Consolacion Convention Hall, Mandaue Sports Complex and Lapu-Lapu Hoops Dome).
The youth pilgrims are staying in more than 3,000 host families and common spaces like seminaries and convent dormitories.
Frankel Gerard Margallo, Cebu archdiocesan youth coordinator, said around 90 percent of the pilgrims are coming from different 85 dioceses outside Cebu.
One of the highlights of the five-day gathering is the youth festival which will be held across Metro Cebu.
Hosted in nine locations, the youth festival engages the pilgrims in various expressions of art, music, and culture.
Various activities will center on the theme “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to Your word”.
“This will be a festive, formative and prayerful gathering,” said Fr. Mark Rommel Barneso, NYD steering team leader.
“The importance of NYD 2019 is that it gives update and venue for the youth to gather at the national level and to reawaken our consciousness to the call of mission,” said Fr. Eugene Suelan, youth director of the Youth for Mary and Christ from Bacolod City.
The Philippines is Asia’s largest Catholic nation.
“I see NYD as the occasion for the spiritual nourishment that it provides to our young people. It is a great opportunity for our young people discover more of themselves and realize their potentialities,” said Jeremy Pabotoy, a youth delegate.
For, Emmanuel Suarez, another delegate, it is a great venue to rejoice God’s faithfulness and goodness together with the young people and as we celebrate the year of the youth.