Launch of the logo for World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid

Preparations are already underway for the 26th World Youth Day (WYD) to be held in Madrid, Spain, from 15th to 21st August 2011.  The theme is “Rooted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith.”

A press conference last week launched the official logo at the archdiocesan headquarters in Madrid.  It was hosted jointly by Santiago de la Cierva, the WYD 2011 Director of Communications, and Auxiliary Bishop Cesar Franco.  The creator of the logo, Jose Gil-Nogues, a graphic designer working in Madrid and Oviedo (Spain) explained its symbolism.  "It depicts the youth of the world coming together to celebrate their faith with the Pope, at the foot of the Cross, and forming a crown of the Virgin of Almudena (patroness of Madrid).  The crown shows an M for Mary, and also Madrid.  The Cross, the sign of the Christian, presides at this meeting of the Pope with the youth."  As for the form, "the symbol is drawn in a spontaneous and firm stroke, symbolic of the youth of the 21st century... familiar, friendly, and open... joyful, at ease, and positive.”  As for the colours: "The use of vibrant colours (red, orange, and yellow) transmits warmth and glow, symbolic of a city like Madrid and a country like Spain.  These colours reflect the divine warmth of the Trinitarian love."

Preparations for event have the full support of the Spanish Government and the city of Madrid.  The main sites for the celebrations will be the Almudena (the main Catholic cathedral in Madrid) and other impressive locations, such as the Gran Via, the Puerta del Sol, and the Paseo de la Castellana.  These will be probably form the stations for the traditional Way of the Cross.  Other WYD events will take place in Getafe (south Madrid suburb) and the nearby city of Alcalá de Henares (35 km to the east), both of which have cathedrals and are dioceses carved out from Madrid since 1991.

The Seminary of Madrid will host a special encounter for seminarians.  The central act of the event will be, along with the Vigil on Saturday, the Mass on Sunday, which will take place in the Cuatro Vientos Air Base, at 9:30am.  The opening Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, in Madrid's Plaza de Cibeles.  This plaza with its famous fountain is the place adopted by Real Madrid football fans to celebrate it triumphs in major competitions.

The Archdiocese of Madrid will launch an official website in September in six official languages (English, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Spanish) and three additional languages (Russian, Arabic, and Chinese).  For this World Youth Day, the main instrument for communication will be the Internet and social networks, like Facebook and hi5.  It was also announced that the passage of the cross and the icon of the Virgin Mary, symbols of and part of the preparation for WYD, will begin this September 14, Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, with a prayer vigil in the Almudena Cathedral.  There will be a pilgrimage of the symbols through the parishes of the Archdiocese of Madrid, until the end of March 2010.  During that time, the cross and icon will also visit the Soto del Real Prison, the “Juvenalia” Youth Fair, and will accompany the youth of Madrid in their pilgrimage to Javier in Navarre, the birth-place of St Francis Xavier.

There will be a European gathering in Santiago de Compostela in the summer of 2010, a jubilee year there.  The dioceses located along the route of the Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James) will also participate in a special manner. 

Previous venues for the international WYD celebrations have been: Buenos Aires (1987), Santiago de Compostela (1989), Czestochowa (1991), Denver (1993), Manila (1995), Paris (1997), Rome (2000), Toronto (2002), Cologne (2005) and Sydney (2008).  In the years in between there have been local celebrations at diocesan level.  This is the second time that Spain hosts World Youth Day.  In 1989 when it was in Santiago de Compostela, the present archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Rouco Varela, was then archbishop of Santiago. 

by Patrick Duffy