Madrid, Spain, Jul 21, 2008 / 09:00 am
With the announcement that Madrid has been chosen as the host city for the next World Youth Day in 2011, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco of Madrid and president of the Bishops’ Conference of Spain will become the first bishop to host a World Youth Day twice.
Cardinal Rouco was Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela in Spain when World Youth Day was held there in 1989. The northwestern Spanish city is the site of one of the most famous pilgrimage destinations in Europe and is visited each year by millions.
In 1998 Cardinal Rouco was named Archbishop of Madrid by Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Rouco is now 71.