THE United States says it will be sending 15,000 pilgrims to World Youth Day, the smallest contingent sent by the American church to a World Youth Day celebration in a decade.Exorbitant travel costs, an economic downturn, a buoyant Australian dollar and the recent visit by the Pope to the US are all believed to have played a part in the lower than expected numbers.
The US church issued a statement yesterday saying its contingent would include 1140 groups from dioceses and parishes, as well as religious associations and schools. More than 500 individuals, including families, would come on their own.
Together, the Americans would comprise the largest national delegation to Sydney.
The pilgrims will be joined by 50 bishops, including Cardinal Francis George, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
On Wednesday the chief operating officer of World Youth Day, Danny Casey, said the church had received at least 200,000 of the 225,000 registrations expected.
As recently as March Mr Casey said the US Conference of Catholic Bishop and other Catholic groups had advised him that Sydney could expect more than 21,000 pilgrims from the US.
Yesterday the church confirmed the response was at the bottom end of expectations but it was hoping for an additional, undisclosed number of American pilgrims from groups not affiliated directly with the US church, such as the Neocatechumenal Way and other orders.
But with World Youth Day organisers expecting a combined 27,000 pilgrims from the US and Canada, it raises fresh questions about the size of the overseas contingent.
"The US Bishops Conference [has] always let us know that they intended to bring between 15,000 [and] 21,000 pilgrims," a spokeswoman said. "We are delighted that 15,000 from one USA group alone are coming."
The US church sent 25,000 pilgrims to Cologne in 2005, 57,000 to Toronto in 2002 and 20,000 to Rome in 2000. The Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago sent 500 to Cologne and told a Catholic news agency in May it was sending 43 pilgrims to Sydney.
The World Youth Day Co-ordination Authority said the church had informed it last week that it was on target to meet 225,000 registrations and State Government planning continued to be based on this number.
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