Advisory: World Youth Day 2013, Rio de Janeiro

World Youth Day 2013, Rio de Janeiro

USCCB Media Contacts

In Rio

USCCB Media Fact Sheet

Dates: World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro will be July 23-28. Pope Francis arrives in Rio July 22 and joins WYD July 25 at the Papal Welcome Ceremony at 6 PM on Copacabana Beach. WYD's overnight vigil and closing Mass will be July 27-28 at Campus Fidei in Guaratiba, an area several miles west of downtown Rio.

Attendees: There will be more than 9,500 youth from 650 groups from the USA.

Catechesis: On July 24-26, catechesis programs will take place in the morning around Rio. The program will include a music group, address by a bishop and Mass. Bishop catechists' for English-speaking groups include Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York; Cardinal Seán O'Malley of Boston; Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia; Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio; Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee; Bishop Edward Burns of Juneau, Auxiliary Bishop Frank Caggiano of Brooklyn. Auxiliary Bishop Edgar da Cunha of Newark will address a Portuguese-speaking group.

U.S. Bishops in attendance: 36. In addition to the above they include

Bishop Robert Brennan, auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre, NY; Bishop Tod Brown, Bishop Emeritus of Orange, California; Bishop Neal Buckon, auxiliary bishop for Military Services; Bishop Octavio Cisneros, auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn; Bishop James Conley of Lincoln; Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn; Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, auxiliary bishop of Seattle; Bishop Bernard Hebda of Gaylord, Michigan; Bishop Donald Kettler of Fairbanks, Alaska; Bishop Dominic Luong, auxiliary bishop of Orange; Bishop Robert McElroy, auxiliary bishop of San Francisco; Bishop Michael Mulvey of Corpus Christi, Texas; Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois; Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines; Bishop Nelson Perez, auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre; Bishop Michael Pfeifer of San Angelo, Texas; Bishop Alberto Rojas, auxiliary bishop of Chicago; Archbishop Roger Schwietz of Anchorage; Bishop Mark Seitz, bishop of El Paso, Texas; Bishop Clarence Silva of Honolulu; Bishop Paul Sirba of Duluth, Minnesota; Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento Bishop James Tamayo of Laredo, Texas; Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, Texas; Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh and Bishop PatrickZurek of Amarillo, Texas

English-language Welcome Center: Vivo Rio, located at Av. Inf-d. Henrique, 85 – Glória, Rio de Janeiro, 20021-140, Brazil, will be a welcome center July 24-26. The U.S. will host a gathering about vocations for U.S. pilgrims July 24, 5:30-7:30 p.m. The event includes conversations about vocations, brief witness by Sister Alexandra Vega, a Sister of Our Lady of Sion who lives in Costa Rica; Jesuit Father Jim Martin (on video), popular writer and speaker and editor at large at America magazine, and Jenny and Bart Baker, a young couple from the Archdiocese of Washington. The main event will be a Holy Hour Experience at 7:30 p.m. featuring a homily by Bishop Edward Burns of Juneau, Alaska, followed by concerts and pilgrim networking at 8:45 p.m.

USCCB headquarters in Rio, July 22-27, Windsor Excelsior Hotel. Av. Atlântica, 1800 - Copacabana Rio de Janeiro, 22021-001, Brazil; Hotel Phone: +55 21 2195-5800.

Vivo Rio headquarters July 24-26, in the Media VIP Room, Vivo Rio, Av. Inf-d. Henrique, 85 – Glória, Rio de Janeiro, 20021-140, Brazil.

Pilgrim groups in Rio include

Diocese of Salt Lake City has young adults traveling to Rio de Janeiro from the St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center. The leader of this group is the Campus Minister, Jon Dalton, 435-513-1892.

Simultaneous events in USA

Archdiocese of Washington is hosting "Rio in DC" at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land on July 27, 6 p.m.-11 p.m., for young adults, ages 18-35, in the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan regions. Rio DC includes a live feed of Pope Francis' vigil from Rio, outdoor Mass, rosary, confessions, catechesis, dinner and a coffeehouse with live music. Rio in DC expects approximately 150-200 young adults. Details are online at adw.org/rio. Media Contacts: Susan Gibbs at (202-525-9554) and Chieko Noguchi at 301-853-4516.

The Archdiocese of Atlanta will have a "World Youth Day Rally – Atlanta" on July 27 from 3:00 pm – 7:45 pm. Flyer for the event announces "Come and join other youth from around the Archdiocese to gather at Holy Family Church in Marietta, as we, through prayer, unite our prayer with millions of other Catholics gathered in Rio for World Youth Day.The Brazilian dinner and festivities will include a period of united prayer, where we will be having adoration the same time they have adoration in Brazil.Open to those entering 9th grade through freshmen year in college in the fall of 2013." Contact: Pat Chivers, 404-920-7344

Diocese of Salt Lake City will host a local celebration of World Youth Day for all youth of the diocese on July 27. The day will consist of prayer, community service, and an opportunity to experience the Brazilian culture. The day will begin with prayer and activity that explores the theme "Go and make disciples of all nations." Following that will be a presentation by Catholic Community Services about the refugee resettlement program and how the youth can help. After the presentation participants will make hygiene kits to donate to Catholic Community Services. In the afternoon there will be a mini Brazilian carnival with Brazilian food, samba lessons, conga drum lessons, jujitsu demonstrations, and an opportunity to take a picture with a Pope Francis, Pope Benedict, or Pope John Paul II cardboard cutout. The day will end with Saturday vigil Mass. Contact: Colleen Gudreau. More information is available at: http://www.icatholic.org/article/world-youth-day-celebration-planned-for-utah-as-a-youth-6045642

For a full list of WYD celebrations in the USA go to http://www.usccb.org/about/world-youth-day/alternative-wyd-celebrations.cfm

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