VALENCIA, Spain — In medieval Valencia carpenters would mark the feast of St. Joseph by clearing their workshops of old projects, prototypes, pieces that didn’t work out, etc. On the eve of the feast of St. Joseph Valencian carpenters would set these pieces on fire. This fire was considered a purifying fire, eliminating the old ...read more

World Youth Day pilgrims are internationally-renowned for being polite. So it must have been in hushed tones that some expressed their dissent. Not to Pope Benedict, who generated enthusiastic responses at the Cologne and Sydney events in ’05 and ’08, respectively. Nor to the selection of this year’s host city, sunny Madrid. But rather, displeasure ...read more

The Vatican is using YouTube and Facebook to promote the upcoming Beatification of John Paul II. He will be named Blessed on May 1st this year. This official Facebook page and YouTube channel uses social networking tools to open up the vast documentary archives held by Vatican Radio and the Vatican Television Centre. Using modern ...read more

World Youth Day Madrid will be a totally “green” event according to organizers. In Madrid Thursday  morning the Main Events department and Zeroemissions, a Spain-based company that specializes in making large world events emissions free, announced plans to make WYD eco-friendly. Some of the initiatives aimed at making WYD environmentally friendly have never been seen ...read more

Did you know that Madrid was not originally the capital of Spain? Toledo was the home of the royal court and thus the capital city. It was in 1561 when Phillip II moved the royal court to Madrid, making it the capital. With that move, new buildings were commissioned so that Madrid would have everything ...read more

Rosary? Check. Pilgrim’s booklet? Check. YouCat? Check. World Youth Day guidebook? Check. The pilgrim packs are being assembled for this year’s World Youth Day in Madrid. And just like when he became the first pilgrim to register for the August 2011 event, Pope Benedict became the first to receive the pilgrim pack. The Archbishop of ...read more

Today in Madrid WYD organizers confirmed the “extra” events on the Pope Benedict XVI's agenda during the event. ...read more

MADRID – Out of the nearly two million pilgrims expected to attend World Youth Day in Madrid in August, about five thousand of those pilgrims will have some sort of disability. The WYD organization has partnered with a Spanish organization to make sure those pilgrims will be able to get the full WYD experience just ...read more

Muslims around the world celebrated Tuesday the feast of Eid al-Adha – commonly known as Eid, which marks the end of Hajj. Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the city in Saudi Arabia, regarded as the holiest site in Islam, since the prophet Muhammad proclaimed Islam in that city in the 7th century. Hajj ...read more

[audio:http://saltandlighttv.org/blog/audio/wyd2011_theme.mp3|titles=WYD2011 Theme Song][/audio] The official hymn for World Youth Day 2011 was released on the eve of November 9th, Feast of the Virgin of Almudena, Patroness of Madrid. “Firm in the Faith,” was performed by the Youth Orchestra of the Community of Madrid and the Youth Choir of the Escolanía de El Escorial. Both groups ...read more