2013 World Youth Day

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World Youth Day 2016 will be in Krakow, Poland

We thank the Lord for His grace and kindness, in blessing the World Youth Day 2013 (28th World Youth Day) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that it was a huge success and indeed was a unique experience to the multitudes who attended the event directly and those who followed the events from home and through the social media.

As it had been announced by Pope Francis in the Closing Mass at Copacabana Beach, the next World Youth Day, due in 2016 will be held in Krakow, Poland, the birthplace of Blessed Pope John Paul II (soon to be Pope St. John Paul II) and the year 2016 also marked the 1050th anniversary since the conversion of Poland to Christianity. This will be the 29th World Youth Day since it’s beginning in 1980 by Blessed Pope John Paul II himself.

We pray that the Lord will bless the next World Youth Day in Krakow just as He had blessed the one which had just finished in Rio de Janeiro. We thank all those who had worked hard to make sure that the event is a great success. God bless all! God bless our Church!

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Porta Fidei, the Door of Faith, Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio – Apostolic Letter released in conjunction with the Year of Faith

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20111011_porta-fidei_en.html

For those who have yet to see this magnificent letter from the Pope with regards to the Year of Faith and what it is about, and what we should do to immerse ourselves in this rare chance to greatly deepen our faith, you may read the article in English in the link provided above.

This Year of Faith began last year on 11 October 2012, on the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, and will last until the Feast of Christ the King this year on 24 November 2013.

During this year, we will also celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the passing of Blessed Pope John XXIII (3 June 1963) and the 50th Anniversary of the election of the Venerable Pope Paul VI (21 June 1963). Under these two great popes, the crucial Second Vatican Council was begun and proceeded to reform the Church, of which reform still occur even until today, through the ‘reform of the reform’.

Let us take action to make this Year of Faith meaningful if we have not done so. The 2013 World Youth Day will also be held this July in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil(23-28 July 2013), and for those who are planning to go, this is a great chance to rediscover and renew your faith in God.

Let us take the concrete step to pass through the ‘Door of Faith/Porta Fidei’ and reach out to God, who loves us all.