Bishop Michael J. Fitzgerald, will lead young people from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on a
12 day pilgrimage that concludes at World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI in Madrid, Spain from August 16-21, 2011. Over 200 young people from parishes throughout the Philadelphia area will attend World Youth Day, 30 of which will also visit Fatima, Portugal and Lourdes, France, sites where the Blessed Mother Virgin Mary appeared. Local participation is being coordinated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's Office for Youth and Young Adults.

Photo op: Bishop Fitzgerald and 30 of the pilgrims will depart for World Youth Day on:

Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Approximate departure time- 4:00 p.m.
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
100 East Wynnewood Road
Wynnewood, PA 19096

World Youth Day (WYD) is a gathering of the Catholic youth with the Holy Father that takes place every two to three years. This year, 420,508 young Catholics registered for World Youth Day 2011- a world record. Currently 29,437 pilgrims from the United States are registered to attend. This is a record number for U.S. participation in a WYD outside of North America. The pilgrims will be accompanied by 64 United States bishops.

For those not traveling to Spain, the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has established a Facebook site (www.facebook.com/virtualworldyouthday) which lets Catholics take a virtual trip to World Youth Day. It gives young people, and anyone interested, a way to participate in the events of World Youth Day through their own avatar.

# # #

Editor's Notes: Staff members of the Office for Youth and Young Adults will be available for interviews while on the Pilgrimage. To arrange an interview, please contact the Office for Communications.

For more information visit http://www.oyya.org or http://old.usccb.org/wyd/

Contact
Jhoselyn Martinez
Communications Specialist
215-587-3747