Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Melo (Fides Service) - Organised by the Bishops’ Commission for Youth Pastoral, Uruguay’s 27th National Youth Day will be held on Sunday 4 September in the diocese of Melo. Some 5,000 young people from dioceses all over the country are expected to take part.
The Church in Uruguay instituted National Youth Day in 1979 when the counry was under a military dictatorship. The idea was to offer young people an opportunity to celebrate the faith together and in an atmosphere of festivity and sharing reflect on the challenges to which they are called to respond. This year in harmony with the Year of the Eucharist the young people chose the slogan “Bread of Life to Share” to underline the value of communion among themselves and with Jesus, the Bread of Life. Bread to be shared means that the young people are not content to ‘remain seated’ they want to ‘get up and walk’ to reach out to other young people to tell them about Life, that is about Jesus.
This 27th Day will focus on two central themes: sharing the Bread and the unity which derives from this sharing. Each diocese has been given a colour also to give colour and joy to the event and to give unity to the diocesan groups. A special moment of the event will be lunch organised to recall the miraculous ‘feeding of the 5,000’ in the Gospel. All 5,000 participants will eat from the same gigantic pot containing a typical regional dish.
The day will include reflection, group discussion, lunch, games and animation and the crowning moment will be a solemn Mass concelebrated by all the Bishops of Uruguay presided by Bishop Luis del Castello of Mercedes. (RZ) (Agenzia Fides 1/9/2005 righe 23 parole 313)
