The following is a Salt and Light interview with Nadia Gundert (above), Director of Youth Ministry for the Archdiocese of Kingston, Ontario.  On Saturday, July 27, 2013, the Archdiocese will host their first-ever “WYD at Home,” to allow young people here in Eastern Ontario to engage in the experience and excitement of WYD Rio. 1. ...read more

A pilgrim prays during Mass at Our Lord of the Good End church in Salvador, Brazil. The church’s gates are covered with ribbons (seen in background), which are symbols of faith. To find out more about this year’s World Youth Day in Rio de Janiero, Brazil visit wydcentral.org CNS photo/Ueslei Marcelino, Reuters ...read more

Blessed José de Anchieta José de Anchieta was born in 1534 on Tenerife in the Canary Islands.  José first went to study in Portugal when he was 14 years old at the Royal College of Arts in Coimbra. Intensely religious, he felt the vocation for priesthood and sought admission in 1551 to the Jesuit College ...read more

Young people carry the World Youth Day Cross during its arrival in Icarai beach in Niteroi, Brazil on May 19, 2013. To find out more about this year’s World Youth Day in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, visit wydcentral.org CNS photo/Ricardo Moraes, Reuters ...read more

Blessed Sister Dulce Maria Rita de Souza Pontes was born in 1914 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. From a young age she showed a profound spirit of charity. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God at the age of eighteen taking the name Dulce after her ...read more

A child dressed as an angel walks alongside other women during an Easter Sunday procession in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. To find out more about this year’s World Youth Day in Rio de Janiero, Brazil visit wydcentral.org CNS photo/Pilar Olivares, Reuters ...read more

St George St George was a soldier in the Roman Empire at the time of Diocletian. When he converted to Christianity he was tortured and beheaded. Since the fourth century St. George has been venerated as a martyr for Christ. He is represented as one who faces the dragon, symbolizing his firm faith and triumph ...read more

A woman walks past religious icons hanging on a wall during celebrations for the feast of St. George the martyr in Rio de Janeiro. St. George is one of the most popular saints in Brazil, where many believe he protects against evil. To find out more about this year’s World Youth Day in Rio de ...read more

In today’s photo of the day, children play in the Vidigal neighborhood in the southern section of Rio de Janiero. In 1980 Pope John Paul II was so stunned by the poverty he saw there that he gave Vidigal his gold ring as an offering. With help from the church, the dangerous and drug-ridden neighborhood ...read more

Blessed Albertina Berkenbrock Albertina Berkenbrock was born in Santa Catarina, Brazil in 1919. On August 16, 1928, she made her First Holy Communion; an experience she described as the most beautiful day of her life. She had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a model of purity and the ...read more