Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kao Hsiung (Fides Service) - With the blessing by His Exc. Mgr. Peter Liu, Archbishop of the diocese of Kao Hsiung, the delegation of the Catholic community in Taiwan on their way to World Youth Day to be held in Madrid, Spain from August 16 to 21, World Youth Day in Taiwan ended on July 17. According to information received by Fides, over 600 young people from all seven dioceses in Taiwan took part in the Day which was held from July 14 to 17 in the diocese of Kao Hsiung on the theme "Rebuild everything in Jesus Christ". During the 4-days meeting, young people learnt about the stages of the 150 years of evangelization in the diocese of Kao Hsiung, which was the host of the event, and also corresponds to the second phase of 150 years of evangelization of the 'island of Taiwan. Furthermore, young people made the pilgrimage to 8 churches, including the Basilica of Our Lady of Wan Jin, and participated in seminars on topics of theology and vocation. Mgr. Peter Liu urged young people "to spend the time they dedicate to surfing on the Internet to God, and then transmit it to their peers, so that they too can meet the Lord, they can be saved". Finally, the Archbishop launched an appeal to the youth so that they "renew the Church".
World Youth Day in Taiwan was an initiative launched by the Taiwan Regional Episcopal Conference in 2004. The theme of the first edition (October 1- 3 in Nan Tou) was "The path towards God and towards Love". The second edition was in 2007 (from August 22 to 26 in Tai Nan) with the theme "love one another. As I have loved you, so you should also love one another" (Gv13, 34). It has since become an annual event, with a theme for each year: "To receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and bear witness to the Lord" (from 9 to 12 October 2008 in Tai Pei), "Young people come forward so that Taiwan has hope; I think, talk and walk like Jesus "(from 19 to 22 August 2009 in Tai Chung). Last year's Day was celebrated from 23 to 30 August 2010 in the diocese of Hsinchu, and had the same theme chosen by Pope Benedict XVI for World Youth Day: "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? "(Mk 10, 17). (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 07/23/2011)
