Australian Catholics offer aid for poor children hoping to attend World Youth Day

Sydney, Australia, Feb 2, 2007 / 09:06 am

The coordinator of World Youth Day 2008 (WYD), Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, announced this week that financial aid will be available for young people from poor countries who desire to attend the event.

Speaking to reporters, the bishop said, “For many people from Oceania this will be their only chance to attend a World Youth Day.”  Therefore, “one of our main ideas was to make sure that pilgrims from developing nations in Oceania paid as little as possible” in order to attend the event in Sydney.

“In reality the price of the packages for pilgrims from poor countries in most cases” will be less than they were for WYD 2005, Bishop Fisher explained.  Prices for young people from more developed countries will be “almost the same as they were in 2005.”

With their registration young people will receive “a backpack with a program of the event, the necessary passes for various services and for special access to the events.”

Sydney is the host of the upcoming World Youth Day, schedule to take place from July 15-20, 2008.  World Youth Day was started by John Paul II in the mid 1980’s. 

According to organizers in Sydney, more than 500,000 young people are expected to attend the event.  For more information see: http://www.wyd2008.org