English-speaking WYD pilgrims paying tribute to Blessed John Paul

Madrid, Spain, Aug 17, 2011 / 01:04 am

Events planned for English-speaking young people at World Youth Day in Madrid will include tributes to Blessed Pope John Paul II.

“At the first World Youth Day since Blessed Pope John Paul II was beatified, this tribute is particularly appropriate,” said Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, who is currently in Madrid.

“The Love and Life Center: A Home for English-speaking Pilgrims” is open from Aug. 16 - 19 at the Palacio de Deportes, Madrid's 11,000-seat concert and sports arena located in the heart of the city.

Relics of Blessed Pope John Paul II will be on display in the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel in the Palacio, which include two items that Blessed Pope John Paul II owned.

The first relic is a mitre – the pointed hat that Catholic bishops wear – and the second is a rosary that was a gift to the late Pope from the people of Gdansk, Poland, where the Polish Solidarity Movement was born.

A memorial book will also be available for pilgrims to sign with their remembrances of Blessed Pope John Paul II, and interviews of pilgrims discussing his influence in their lives will be recorded on video throughout the week.

“An entire generation of Catholic young people is known as the John Paul II generation,” Anderson noted, “and the presence of so many pilgrims shows the timeless nature and inspiration of the World Youth Day experience.”

Blessed Pope John Paul was named a patron of this year’s World Youth Day – an event he founded in 1985.

In addition to speakers such as Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who was recently named the leader of the Philadelphia archdiocese, and Carl Anderson, the events for English-speaking pilgrims will also feature an array of top speakers, actors and musicians.