First act of the Encounter in Santa María. /
They have been received by the bishop, Jesús Pulido, in his first act with the youth of Cáceres, and the mayor, Luis Salaya
About 500 people, most of them young, meet this Saturday in the capital of Cáceres in a day organized by the Diocese of Coria-Cáceres. It is the 35th edition of the Diocesan Meeting, which is being held again after the parenthesis forced by the pandemic since 2020. The welcome and official reception has corresponded to the mayor, Jesús Pulido. The mayor, Luis Salaya, has also attended.
‘Like Maria, get on your way’ is the motto of this Meeting, which started at 9:30 am with registration and breakfast in the Plaza de Santa María, according to the official announcement. After the welcome from the Youth Ministry and authorities, the workshops that have been scheduled have begun. The appointment is at the Diocesan College and at the Seminary.
“Young people are invited to go out. We will have moments of fun, reflection, prayer and the Eucharist”, points out María Carmen Castillejo, who is part of the organization and who mentions the “warm” welcome to the new bishop in another of his first acts. It was the first with the youth of the Diocese.
The bishop, Jesús Pulido (right), together with the mayor, Luis Salaya. /
Rafael Delgado, from the organization, has stressed that it was necessary to “give each other a hug” after two years of the pandemic. The religious has cited the setback caused by covid-19 by preventing this day from being carried out for the last two years. Delgado alluded to the different places of origin of the participants who have gathered in Cáceres.
“We want to feel like a young Church made up of as many groups of parishes and movements as you are here,” he says.
“In the pandemic, young people put the city behind their backs”
Luis Salaya
Mayor of Caceres
In the surroundings of the historic center of Cáceres, in his welcome to young people, the mayor also cited the “difficult times” experienced in recent times, with the impact of the pandemic on the elderly population and with an important contribution of youth volunteering to mitigate the effects. “Young people got involved with volunteering and put the city behind them,” analyzed Luis Salaya about the work carried out by younger volunteers.
Despite the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other incidents, Salaya speaks of a “historic moment” and in which the people of Cáceres can live peacefully, “safer than we have felt at almost any time in history” and in a reference city.
After lunch, on Saturday afternoon a music and dance festival is organized, which will be the culmination of the Diocesan Youth Encounter. From the Diocese, a day of “reunion” is signed in which the Diocesan College and the Seminary have collaborated with the Youth Ministry. It has been “the great festival of young people,” add the organizers.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.