Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Madrid (Agenzia Fides) – On Friday, June 6, the Ecclesiastical Province of Madrid (which includes the Dioceses of Madrid, Alcala de Henares, and Getafe) will celebrate the closing ceremony for “Misión Joven” (Youth Mission) with a consecration to the Heart of Jesus in Cerro de los Angeles, the site that marks Spain’s geographical center. The event will begin at 5:00pm with a gathering of participants at Perales del Rio, followed by prayer and benediction by Bishop Jesús Catalá Ibáñez of Alcala de Henares. At 6:00, there will be a procession with the statue of Our Lady of “la Real de la Almudena,” Patroness of the Archdiocese of Madrid, which will begin on the highest level of Cerro. Bishop Joaquín López de Andújar y Cánovas del Castillo of Getafe will give the welcoming address. At 8:30, there will be a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid, during which will be the act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. From 10:00 to 11:00, there will be a “Festival Joven” (Youth Festival), and from 11:00 to 12:00, there will be a Prayer Vigil, which will conclude the Youth Mission.
“We know the difficulties you are having as exams approach. Perhaps we are asking too much of you, we know. However, we trust in your generosity and testimony. These are values that attract the youth of your age that live with you on a daily basis. Help them to discover the Face of Christ! Invite your friends!,” the Bishops of this Ecclesiastical Province said in a statement issued on the occasion of the closing event, inviting the youth to participate. For the Bishops, the mini-pilgrimage to Cerro de los Angeles takes on meaning from “the path begun two years ago, when you were called to be the Lord’s Witnesses amongst your companions.”
The Bishops continue: “before the Mass begins, on the lowest level of Cerro, the families who have participated in the Mission during this time will also join us. We will also be celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation and we will begin walking up to the highest level, knowing that we are accompanied by the Virgin Mary in our recitation of the Holy Rosary. Upon our arrival, we will be joined by the image of the Virgin of the Almudena, Patroness of the Archdiocese. She has accompanied us in all our diocesan events during ‘Misión Joven’ and will join us in our walking to the Lord’s Altar.” During the Mass, which “is the center of the life of the Church...we will present the fruits of our ‘Misión Joven’ to the Lord and we will consecrate ourselves to Christ through His Sacred Heart.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 3/6/2008)
