Youth Travel to Rome for World Youth Day 2000

August 7, 2000. Meriden, CT; Seattle, WA; Lowell, MI; Duluth, MN; Holy Land.

A group of young people representing several of the FSE Centers are traveling to meet the Holy Father in Rome for World Youth Day 2000, August 15-20. The group has been preparing for this pilgrimage for the past year, meeting and studying about the role of youth in the Church.

The United States pilgrims will travel together and meet their Holy Land counterparts in Rome. These young pilgrims will also visit Franciscan holy places in Assisi and Mt. LaVerna to learn more about the life of St. Francis who, as a young man, heard the Call from God to rebuild the Church of his day.

Katherine Rzegocki, a young woman from Meriden, CT, says she is very excited about the pilgrimage. She and her fellow pilgrims have been earning money for the pilgrimage for the past months through odd jobs, child care and projects.

This year's World Youth Day, the 15th in a series initiated by Pope John Paul II, is expected to draw two million youth from all over the world to Rome to meet with the Holy Father and listen to the wisdom of his words. Traditionally, the Pope celebrates Mass for the youth and also joins in a festivity of song and prayer.