Friday, June 03, 2011

Knights of Columbus, Sister of Life to host WYD center for English-speakers

The Knights of Columbus and the Sisters of Life are sponsoring and hosting a pilgrim center for English-speaking participants at World Youth Day in Madrid.

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said the center will provide “a place of rest, prayer and fellowship for English-speaking pilgrims from around the world” where they can join friends and participate in “a spectacular outpouring of faith.”

Activities at the center will be free and scheduled around the World Youth Day event program. 

Events include Masses and devotions, catechesis sessions, concerts, speakers, witness testimonies, prayer and movie screenings.

Other events at the site include a Eucharistic procession and an outdoor Way of the Cross.

Eucharistic adoration and Confession will be available continuously at the site throughout the week.

The center, named “Love and Life: A Home for English-Speaking Pilgrims,” is co-sponsored by Holy Cross Family Ministries, Canada's Salt and Light Television, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, the Apostleship of Prayer, the World Youth Alliance and the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family.

The Knights and the Sisters hosted a smaller pilgrim center at World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney.

More than one million pilgrims are expected to participate in the Madrid World Youth Day gathering, which begins on Aug. 16 and ends Aug. 21. 

Pope Benedict XVI will also celebrate Mass at the event.

A smartphone application for the “Love and Life” center is available through its website, http://wydEnglish.org.