Patrons of WYD.

Patrons of WYD.

 The Holy See has confirmed the choice of Cibeles Square, one of Madrid’s most renowned locations, as the place where Pope Benedict XVI will be welcomed by the young people on Thursday, August 18.  They added that the vigil and final Mass with the Holy Father will be held at the Cuatro Vientos airfield, where John Paul II met with young people in 2003 during his final visit to the country.

On 4 May 2010, WYD organizers have named the patron saints for the event, which “encompass the history of the Church in Spain, from the first saints of Madrid.”.  The patron saints for WYD 2011 are as follows:

1.            St. Isidore, 

2.            St. John of the Cross, 

3.            St. Maria de la Cabeza, 

4.            St. John of Avila, 

5.            St. Teresa of Avila, 

6.            St. Rose of Lima, 

7.            St. Ignatius of Loyola, 

8.            St. Rafael Arnaiz and 

9.            St. Francis Xavier.

These patrons encompass the history of the Church in Spain, from the first saints of Madrid (St. Isidore and St. Maria), through the founders of the Discalced Carmelites and the Society of Jesus (St. Teresa and St. Ignatius), a great missionary to the East (St. Francis Xavier), the summit of mystic literature (St. John of the Cross), the force behind diocesan priestly spirituality (St. John of Avila), the first saint of Hispanic America (St. Rose of Lima), and a young person from our times (St. Rafael Arnaiz), who was recently canonised.

The organisers of WYD said “All of these saints are of Spanish origin, in order to root WYD in the culture of the host country, as was done at WYD in Cologne, where the saints chosen were related to the Christian history of Germany,”  

This week I challenge you to research one of these saints per month for the next 9 months.  You might like to think of them as your personal preparation WYD heavenly guides.  Take the time to research about their lives, find out all you can about them from an excellent resource under saints found here.  Most importantly, take the time to pray to them each day, one patron per month.

You may wonder why you should bother- you might even be inclined to say 'who cares who the patron saints are;  As a two-time pilgrim of WYD, I can only recommend to you that the more you put into your physical, emotional and spiritual preparation, the more you will gain from the experience.  WYD is indeed a life changing experience, but you need to put in the effort if you are to get the most benefit.

So for the month of September- why not start praying and exploring the life of St Isidore.  The Holy See confirms these saints for WYD.  What about YOU?