Archbishop Mgr Paul Cremona OP has invited Malta’s young people to join him in his visit to Australia in July 2008.

The visit will serve two purposes; the Archbishop has already made public his intention to visit Maltese migrants living in Australia, and in July next year Sydney will be hosting the XXIII World Youth Day (WYD).

This is therefore a great opportunity for young Maltese people to participate in this great event along with youths from all around the globe together with the Pope. The Archbishop is asking young Maltese people to accompany him for this visit and during the WYD celebrations.

The coordination of this visit is being handled by the Diocesan Youth Commission (KDZ) and the Emigrants’ Commission. KDZ has already started making arrangements with APS Bank and Emirates Airlines to make the journey and opportunity feasible for as many young people as possible.

Contacts have been made with the Maltese and Gozitan communities in Melbourne and Sydney as, although WYD celebrations will be held mainly in Sydney (15-21 July), the visit to Australia will be extended to allow time for pilgrims to visit both places. These pilgrims will be hosted by Maltese families living in Australia and a programme of activities is being coordinated in both places.

WYD is actually a pilgrimage of young people and a festival of encounter and solidarity. The Pope’s invitation is aimed at young people all over the world to join him in a specified city for this celebration of faith.

Following WYD in 2005, in Cologne, Germany, for which some 600 Maltese youths were present among the hundreds of thousands of others, KDZ is encouraging young people to take this opportunity and travel to Australia in 2008.

The preparatory journey for this pastoral visit and World Youth Day will kick off this weekend, during the celebrations for this year’s World Youth Day.

For further information, or to subscribe in the monthly WYD e-newsletter, visit KDZ’s website www.kdz.org.mt