100,000 Youths Will Attend Denver Gathering Featuring Visit by Pope

More than 100,000 young people have signed up for World Youth Day, the international gathering in Denver this August that will include a four-day visit by Pope John Paul II. Registrations are still being taken in the United States and throughout the world, according to organizers.

The event will open with an evening Mass on Aug. 11, the Vatican announced Thursday. Pope John Paul will arrive at Youth Day activities the following day, Aug. 12, when a welcoming ceremony is scheduled for Denver’s Mile High Stadium.

Aug. 12 through 14 will be days of catechesis, or instruction, with different themes for each of the three days. A prayer vigil with the Pope is scheduled for Aug. 14. Activities will end Aug. 15, the Feast of the Assumption, with John Paul presiding at a Eucharistic celebration.

Although the March 15 target date for registration in the United States has passed, officials at World Youth Day headquarters in Washington encouraged parishes and dioceses to continue taking registrations.

Participants may register through the Focolare Movement, P.O. Box 496, New York, N.Y. 10021 (718-828-1969); the National Catholic Student Coalition, 300 College Park Ave., Dayton, Ohio 45469-2515 (513-229-3590), and World Youth Day, 3211 4th St., N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017 (202-541-3001).