Every city has it’s little secrets. Some are dark and sinister, some are just plain fabulous. After eight months in Madrid, I learned one of those neat little secrets that I put in the fabulous category just because it’s downright ingenious. One of the most iconic landmarks in Madrid is Plaza Cibeles. It’s a roundabout ...read more

Madrid in August is hot, hot, hot. We’re talking two-showers-a-day hot. However, most pilgrims will be housed in group accommodation venues which means either a school gym, a community centre, or a parish hall.  All spaces can sleep a large group, but don’t normally house young people for a full week. These accommodation venues have been outfitted ...read more

Having been the Artistic Director for WYD2002 in Toronto, there is a very special place in my heart for the Youth Festival. This is the component of WYD, initiated in Paris in 1997, that allows the pilgrims themselves to be co-producers of WYD. The Catechesis Sessions and Main Events are planned by the WYD National ...read more

At a recent press conference, Antonio Gallo, Director of Social Networks for WYD, presented various web-based initiatives that have been underway over the past two years. In fact, the presence of the Church on social networks has been strengthened by the interest shown by Benedict XVI himself. Gallo remarked that “a Pope who ‘Tweets’ relates ...read more

You can now visit the Madrid11 website and look for all the locations for the catechesis sessions. The catechesis sessions traditionally take place from the Wednesday to Friday of WYD. In Madrid they will be on Wednesday August 17th, Thursday August 18th, and Friday August 19th, at 10:00 am. Every day there will be a ...read more

Families and young people will be the beneficiaries of the two social aid projects that will emerge from World Youth Day in Madrid, which starts on Tuesday. Madrid has been the chosen site for building a residential complex for families at risk of social exclusion. The building will have four floors and 127 homes that ...read more

For the World Youth Day pilgrim, being surrounded by hundreds of thousands of fellow Catholics for Mass will be a taste of Heaven. If one picks up an intestinal illness, however, the crowded Cuatro Vientos air base (the expansive site of the vigil and closing Mass), will provide a very different experience. With that in ...read more

Vatican and WYD launch an invitation system to get people to the event If the success of recent new social media networks is any indication, there is nothing more powerful than receiving an invitation to use a new product or attend an event. The Vatican figured that out, too. Through the Vatican’s social media website ...read more

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued the following release regarding WYD participants: Firm in the Faith! [singlepic id=80 w=320 h=240 float=right] More than 500,000 young pilgrims from all over the world, including 6,000 from Canada, are expected in Madrid, Spain, to participate in the 26th World Youth Day (WYD). After Sydney in 2008 and ...read more

The Mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruíz Gallardón, has issued his third proclamation in these eight years at the head of the Madrid City Council, this time it is addressed to all Madrilenians on the occasion of the upcoming celebration for World Youth Day (WYD), to be held in the Spanish capital from August 16 to ...read more