After more than a year of planning, preparation and prayer, young people from the Diocese of Bridgeport are on their way to Krakow, Poland for World Youth Day. Read the Bishop’s statement here.
Power leading pilgrims in prayer video.
Click here for a video of Msgr
The first group of 110 pilgrims and chaperones filled two large coaches and departed from the Catholic Center parking lot this morning with the well-wishers of parents and friends. The second group left the Catholic Center at 4 pm on their way to Kennedy Airport for the evening flight.
Fr. Arthur Mollenhauer, Pastor of St. Roch Parish in Greenwich and a judge in the Diocesan Tribunal, led the pilgrims in prayer and encouraged them to remember that their reasons for traveling are to strengthen themselves ” in the Christian way of life” and dedicate themselves {to works of charity.”
With a total of 234 young people and chaperones, the diocesan delegation , led by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, is one of the largest in the United States. The 12-day pilgrimage includes a stop at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The delegation will also visit Czestochowa, in Jasna Gora, the monastery that is home to the Black Madonna icon.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy,” one of the eight Beatitudes, is the theme of this year’s World Youth Day gathering, held July 27-31.
“I know this pilgrimage will have a great impact on people, especially those who are craving more for their faith,” said John Grosso, World Youth Day coordinator for the Diocese of Bridgeport. “I hope that all of our pilgrims will come to embrace the spirit of World Youth Day.”
The Diocese of Bridgeport’s WYD delegation is one of the largest from any single diocese in the United States. The large size of the group, Grosso said, is “a testament to Bishop Caggiano’s leadership. His passion for World Youth Day inspires passion in our pilgrims.”
Bishop Caggiano, who is serving as World Youth Day liaison for the U.S. bishops, will deliver the homily at an all-American Mass in Krakow on July 30.
