CBCP puts World Youth Day online

WWW.WYDPINOY.COM

For the first time, the observance of the World Youth Day abroad will no longer be exclusive to young Filipinos who have the time and cash to spare for the coveted Christian gathering.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Friday launched an online portal that offers the Filipino youth a “virtual experience” of the 26th World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain from August 16-21.

The portal will give Filipinos access to real-time updates in the celebration and allow them to listen to podcast interviews of pilgrims sharing their experiences. They can also watch videos or browse photos showing the Filipino delegation’s participation in the event.

The creation of the website, www.wydpinoy.com is a brainchild of the CBCP Media Office and the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Youth (ECY).

“This is in answer to the call of the Holy Father for evangelization to be present even in the digital world,” said web administrator April Frances Ortigas in a press conference Friday.

She said six members of the YouthPinoy, the official media arm of the CBCP-ECY will be sent to Spain to document the Filipino delegation’s participation in the World Youth Day, a youth-oriented Christian festivity initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985.

Ortigas said the documentation team said they would monitor the celebration and follow the Filipino delegates—“their personal reflections, their activities and experiences during the event, down to what they eat will be transmitted across the world.”

So far, the ECY has 427 Filipino delegates to the World Youth Day while other youth groups have at least 1,200 delegates, said Fr. Conegundo Garganta, executive secretary of the CBCP-ECY.

In a statement, Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon welcomed the launching of the portal, admitting that the distance of the World Youth Day’s venue from the country was a major concern for young Filipinos wanting to attend the event.