The amount of the costs linked to the organization of the World Youth Days (WYD) planned for Lisbon at the beginning of August, in particular that of the podium where the pope will have to celebrate the final mass, sparked a lively controversy Thursday in Portugal.
The construction of the gigantic altar has been budgeted by the Lisbon City Council at some 5.3 million euros.
"It's a figure that hurts, because we are living in difficult times for all"
, reacted at the start of the evening Bishop Américo Aguiar, who chairs the foundation responsible for organizing the event, saying to himself ready to reassess the project in order to reduce the specifications of the Church.
More than a million young pilgrims expected
More than a million young pilgrims are expected in Lisbon from August 1 to 6 for these World Youth Days, a world meeting for young Catholics established by John Paul II and normally organized every three years.
Controversy arose over the construction of a partially covered altar-podium with an area of approximately 5,000 square meters and 9 meters high.
The stage, which will have two elevators and a central staircase, is supposed to accommodate up to 2,000 people, including a thousand bishops, an orchestra and a choir.
This structure will be built on the site of a former landfill on the banks of the Tagus River, at the confluence of the municipalities of Lisbon and Loures.
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President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a devout Catholic, intervened in the controversy to ask the organizers to take into account
the "simplicity and humility"
that mark the thought of Pope Francis.
The Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, assured that the municipality will not exceed its budget of 35 million euros allocated to WYD, while defending the realization of
"an investment that transforms the city".