Replica of the World Youth Day cross begins pilgrimage in Vila Real

A replica of the World Youth Day cross began a pilgrimage through the Diocese of Vila Real to promote the 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul.

The pilgrimage started last Saturday at the Parish of Our Lady of Conception in Vila Real. The cross will travel to all parishes and villages within the diocese to encourage young people to register for the event in South Korea. Following an initial gathering with the Jeochua youth group, the cross was handed to representatives from parishes in the western zone of the Arciprestado do Centro I. The launch concluded with a Mass celebrated by the local parish priest, Monsignor Fernando Miranda.

The replica was provided to Portuguese dioceses by the organizers of World Youth Day Lisbon 2023. This follows the 2022 pilgrimage of the original cross, which Pope John Paul II entrusted to young people in 1984.