Will Visit All Island's Dioceses
ROME, AUGUST 20 (ZENIT.org).- The youth cross from the first World Youth Day is set to visit Cuba. The proposal came from Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, who led a group of 60 Cuban Catholic youths to World Youth Day. Last Friday, the group met with John Paul II.
The cross, made of dark wood, is very simple. The Holy Father gave it to the youths of the world in 1984, when World Youth Day was established in Rome. He asked that it be carried to all corners of the earth.
The cross was present all succeeding World Youth Days. It arrived in Rome several days ago, carried on the shoulders of Italian youths, after travelling over 50,000 miles. It visited all Italian provinces in preparation for World Youth Day 2000 in Rome. In many cases, youths carried the cross on foot for hundreds of miles.
Now, following the mass meeting of some 2 million youths with Peter's successor, the «youth cross» will go to Cuba in September, where it will visit all the island's dioceses.
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