Davao to host National Youth Day

About 10,000 Catholic youths from all over the country are expected to join this year’s National Youth Day, which will be held for the first time in the South.

The Episcopal Commission on Youth of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said the Archdiocese of Davao will host the 2006 National Youth Day on Nov. 8-12. 

This year’s theme is "Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Psalms 119:05).

Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla called on the clergy and the laity to pray for the success of the celebration.

"I appeal for community support for and collaboration with the efforts of our Davao Archdiocesan Youth Coordinating Apostolate (DAYCA) and our respective youth groups as they prepare a comprehensive and meaningful program for the National Youth Day," he said in a statement.

The National Youth Day is a festival of celebrations, formation, prayer, conferences and other religious activities aimed at enriching the spiritual lives of young Catholics.

It also aims to giving the modern Catholic Filipino youth a more satisfying experience of faith, hope and love by reflecting on the World Youth Day message of Pope John Paul II.

In 1986, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines approved the annual holding of National Youth Day as a way of concretizing its preferential apostolate for children and the youth.