"We are now very close to the WYD and we hope that all the preparations made have helped us to ready our hearts to live this deeply spiritual and markedly ecclesial experience intensely", shared the coordination team of the Spanish SYM, offering some guidelines and organisational criteria for the Salesian pilgrimage to Lisbon.

Coming from the different Salesian presences in Spain, the young people in the Salesian Youth Movement will reach Lisbon by bus on Monday, 31 July. Depending on the proximity of the departure city, the trips will take more or less time, but the desire and emotion of the participants to meet the Pope will always and equally all be very intense.

The places of residence of the participants in the WYD through SYM Spain are Estoril and Cascais, where both the Salesians and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) have their houses.

Participants from Andalusia, Extremadura and the Canary Islands will be hosted by the Salesians in Estoril. The FMA in Cascais will host young people from Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia and the Pamplona group. Finally, young pilgrims from the Province of St James the Greater (SSM) and also part of the FMA delegations in SSM will stay in Cascais Alcabideche. "Upon arrival at their destination, those in charge locally will tell us how to settle in and how to collect the pilgrim's accreditation and backpack" say the members of the coordination team.

The 2,200 young people from SYM Spain join the more than 75,000 participants from all over the country who will respond to the invitation from the Pope for this 38th WYD, whose theme is: "Mary arose and went with haste" (Lk 1:39).

The main  WYD events involving Salesians will be the opening Mass, on 1 August, at 7:00 p.m., at the Colina do Encontro; the welcome to Pope Francis, which will take place on 3 August at 5:45 p.m., also at the Colina do Encontro; the Via Crucis, on 4 August at 6:00 p.m., again at the Colina do Encontro;; the Vigil with the Pope on 5 August at 8:45 p.m. at the Campo da Graça; and, finally, the Sending Mass at the end of the WYD, on 6 August at 9:00 a.m., again at the Campo da Graça, an act in which the city that will host the next World Youth Day will be announced.

In addition to these central events, participants in the WYD with the Spanish SYM, who will have already arrived on 31 July, will be able to participate in the "Meeting of the Spaniards", which takes place every time before each WYD, and which will take place on that day in the gardens at Estoril Casino, where more than 37,000 young people from Spain are expected.

On Wednesday 2 August, Estoril will also host the SYM World Meeting. In the morning there will be the SYM Forum involving the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, and the Mother General of the FMA, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, in which the designated representatives of the SYM will participate. And then there is the great celebration of the world's SYM, where Spain's SYM will make its presentation and which includes an afternoon of games and celebration, a prayer vigil and the "Salesian Good Night". The coordination team for this Salesian meeting expects about 8,000 young people to be involved. Each young person will receive three T- shirts for this event: the Spanish SYM (red), the SYM Spain one specifically for the WYD (white) and another one for the Spanish meeting promoted by the Episcopal Conference of Spain.

“We are really excited about our participation in WYD Lisbon 2023. We want it to be a meaningful experience for all of us, where we can renew our lives and continue to encourage our commitment as followers of Jesus. We encourage you to prepare yourselves well for the pilgrimage and to prepare your hearts for the grace of the Lord that will be poured out in abundance during these days among young people around the world. It will be an event with a strong ecclesial sense, around the successor of Peter, Pope Francis, who will confirm us in the faith and send us as witnesses of the gospel to every corner of the earth", explain Spain's SYM coordination team.

"May Mary Help of Christians, Our Lady of Fatima, take us under her mantle and accompany us on our pilgrimage, and may Don Bosco, patron saint of WYD Lisbon 2023, intercede for us", they conclude.

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