Thirteen thousand kilometers is the distance that our Kazakh youth had to overcome to represent our country and our Church at World Youth Day 2019 in Panama. Nothing is impossible for God.
On January 27, the regular XXXIV meeting of the youth with the Pope in Panama ended.
Despite the long distance, Kazakhstan was represented at the World Youth Day by a small group of pilgrims, which for reasons of convenience united with missionaries from Poland, serving in the Almaty Diocese – only 14 people.
Pope Francis called World Youth Day a great symphony of faces and languages. “To see all the flags joined together, waving in the hands of young people overjoyed to meet one another, was a prophetic sign. The sign that continues on in spite of the sad tendency of conflictual nationalism that raise walls and close themselves to universality and the encounter of peoples”.
The slogan of World Youth Day XXXIV (hereinafter WYD) were the words of Mary, told to the angel: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”. Thus, the entire WYD was imbued with a strong Marian spirit, which was particularly evident in the prayer of the Way of the Cross. Pulling out the little Way of the Cross from his pocket, the Pope said that he always carries it with him and prays when he has free time. “Let me tell you a secret”, – he said, -” I really enjoy doing the Way of the Cross, because it means following Jesus with Mary”.
In addition, the Bishop of Rome made a point in stressing the importance of young people in today’s society. He said that young people “shouldn’t be sitting in the waiting room, sitting around until we are called”, but they are “the Now of God” for the Church and the World.
The Pope also drew attention to how important it is for adults to give the young generation proper upbringing and education, so that young people can then find a job and their place in society.
Recall that the initiator of the youth meetings with the Pope was the Pontiff John Paul II, who in 1986 proposed to celebrate “World Youth Day” on a regular basis. Since then, the WYD is held every 2-3 years and every time in different cities around the world. It is already known that the next venue for this grand event will be Portugal.
Read more about how Kazakhstan’s youth lived every day of WYD on Facebook, using tag #ВДM2019КАЗАХСТАН, and Vkontakte using tag #ВДМ2019@catholickz.
