The Vatican is working on the first World Children's Day which will be held on 25 and 26 May in Rome.
Young people will also arrive from war zones, from Palestine to Ukraine, from Afghanistan to Syria.
"The WYD will be celebrated on a dual level - explained Card. José Tolentino de Mendonca, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, in a press conference -, the universal one will be celebrated in Rome, and the one at the diocesan level organized by the local Churches" .
Registration opens today.
There are two main events: the Christmas Eve and the Sunday Mass, and Pope Francis will participate in both.
"I cannot help but thank Pope Francis for having established the first World Children's Day. As coordinator of the initiative - said Father Enzo Fortunato -, I will put all my enthusiasm and my ability to dream. And who more than children can teach us to do it? And which greatest dream of peace? Let's start again from them, from their simplicity and desire for the future. And from the words of the Lord taken from the Apocalypse, which the Holy Father chose as the theme and motto for the first edition of the day: 'Behold, I make all things new '".
"We are grateful to Pope Francis for having announced the first World Children's Day in the month of May. In a time of war and little attention to the environment - underlined the President of the Community of Sant'Egidio Marco Impagliazzo -, there is a need to give the word to the young generations, as demonstrated by the happy outcome of the meeting in the Paul VI Hall with Pope Francis and thousands of children from all over the world on November 6. We need to listen to the children because their voice is a convinced and explicit 'no' to war and the destruction of nature. Our communities in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia, with their Schools of Peace, are preparing for this Day, so that it is the right opportunity to put children, who are the present and future of humanity".
The organizers of the event also include the Auxilium cooperative and a dense network of collaborations, from Trenitalia to Figc.
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