Africa-Press – Cape verde. The deacon and diocesan assistant for youth in the Diocese of Santiago makes a “positive assessment” of the presence of Cape Verdean pilgrims at World Youth Day (WYD) and the perspective of “active participation” in upcoming events of the Catholic Church. “ Our participation was very visible and credible, despite everything, nothing affected our active participation”.
Speaking to Inforpress, José Manuel Vaz considered that only those who “lived” the days of the pre-journey and WYD Lisbon 2023, which took place from August 1st to 6th, with the participation of Pope Francis, know the feeling, since this meeting will forever mark the lives of the more than 900 young Cape Verdeans who attended the event.
“The balance we make is extremely positive (…), it was an important moment in the lives of young Cape Verdeans, both those who came and those from the diaspora”, he said, maintaining that the journey was “very well” organized, with a “competent and responsible” team, with “excellent” communication and always available, without leaving out a “great level” of safety.
Cabo Verde’s participation was “very visible and credible”
“It was simply spectacular. Our participation was very visible and credible, despite everything, nothing affected our active participation. The pilgrims showed that they experienced great joy and a great unique moment in their lives”, he stressed, recalling that young Cape Verdeans were in a rush because of the distance between the activities [Lisbon] and accommodation [Santarém], but that it was possible “living this great meeting of faith and culture”.
José Manuel Vaz also highlighted what he considered “very beautiful”, which was that every time the Cape Verdean delegation met pilgrims from other countries and different languages, they asked to exchange flags, symbols and ribbons as souvenirs.
On the other hand, the deacon highlighted that the encounters they had with the Holy Father, namely the Way of the Cross, the Vigil and the Sending Mass, were also unique moments in everyone’s lives.
“It takes a lot of faith to understand these moments. In this meeting we felt that the church is beautiful, close and communicative. The Holy Father made it clear in his communications that we are all uniquely called to take our place in the church,” he said.
Prospects for the coming years
With the positive balance of WYD, the deacon and diocesan youth assistant of the Diocese of Santiago is already looking forward to the church’s next meetings, namely the Jubilee of Youth in Cidade da Praia, in 2024, the International Jubilee of Youth, in Rome, in 2025 , and World Youth Day in Seoul, South Korea, in 2027.
“The first is the Jubilee of Youth, which will take place precisely to draw the diaspora to form a large youth entourage and form this great ‘generation 500’ and be able to analyze the 500 years of history and everything that has happened (…). The International Jubilee of Youth that Pope Francis invited all young people to attend and we are going to tirelessly prepare for an active participation”, he guaranteed.
Finally, the official indicated the next WYD, also assuring that Cape Verde’s participation will be “active to relive” the moments of Lisbon, showing himself convinced that young people will participate.
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