CARDINAL RUINI RECEIVES THE WORLD YOUTH DAY CROSS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 10, 1999 (VIS) - On September 14, Cardinal Vicar of Rome Camillo Ruini will receive the World Youth Day cross. On the same day the cross will begin its pilgrimage through the parishes of Rome.

A communique released today by the vicariate of Rome states that the pilgrimage is "an itinerary of faith and prayer" which, over the course of the pastoral year, will pass through the whole diocese of Rome. The intention behind this, the communique continues, is "to sensitize the young and Romans in general to the most important event of the jubilee year, an event that will involve the participation of more than one and a half million young people from all over the world."

The cross, which the young people will carry in procession on September 14, recalls the cross that the Pope entrusted to the young at the end of the Holy Year of the Redemption in 1983. It will be carried from the Basilica of the Holy Cross to the Basilica of St. John Lateran. This symbol of World Youth Day has been present at all the international encounters from Rome in 1984, to Paris in 1997.

The liturgy, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, will be presided by Cardinal Camillo Ruini. Also taking part in the ceremony will be Cardinal Miroslav Vlk, archbishop of Prague, Czech Republic, who will address some words to the participants.

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