SW News: With hardly a week left for World Youth Day in Lisbon, Spain appears to be the country from where the maximum number of young believers have registered for the mega Catholic event. Reports indicate that more than 75,000 young Spanish Catholics have registered for WYD, which will be held in the Portuguese capital from August 1 to 6. The Holy Father is also slated to attend the event.

As many as 71 bishops from Spain are accompanying the young Catholics and they will be in charge of the 25 catechesis classes in Spanish during the days of the event. During WYD, the Subcommittee for Youth and Children of the bishops’ conference of Spain is the coordinator of all the pilgrims from the country.

Ahead of WYD, the Spanish Church will witness the youth taking part in Days in the Dioceses programs across Portugal from July 26 to 30. It will be hosted by the dioceses of Coimbra, Viseu, Viana do Castelo, Leiria-Fatima, Braga, Aveiro, Porto, Faro, Evora and Madeira.

On July 31, there will be a meeting of Spanish pilgrims in Estoril and it is anticipated that 37,375 young believers are expected to take part in it. They will represent 67 dioceses of Spain, 32 religious families and 11 national and international movements. The event comprises three parts and in the first, there will be sharing of testimonies regarding the preparations for WYD in Lisbon.

It will be followed by Holy Mass celebrated by Cardinal Juan Jose Omella of Barcelona, the president of the Spanish episcopal conference. Several bishops from Spain will concelebrate the Mass along with the cardinal. The final part of the event will comprise the Caminos de Juventud Festival in which artists from Spain will enthrall the young believers.