Philippines to send fewer delegates to World Youth Day

MANILA, Philippines — Still feeling the effects of the COVID pandemic, the country would send fewer delegates to the World Youth Day (WYD) gathering in Portugal next month, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said yesterday.

CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Youth executive secretary Fr. Jade Licuanan said that compared to previous WYD events wherein the ECY delegation could reach a thousand pilgrims, for this year there would only be around 270 official delegates.

“The number of pilgrims is not as many as before,” he said.

Licuanan added that there are non-ECY delegates who registered on their own with the WYD’s Lisbon, Portugal portal.

He said the CBCP-ECY would eventually find out the names of non-ECY delegates because they would need an endorsement letter from CBCP-ECY chairman Daet, Camarines Norte Bishop Rex Andrew Alarcon.

An endorsement letter is a requirement in order to obtain a Schengen visa from the embassy of Greece, which was accredited to process visa applications of Filipinos traveling to Portugal, which has no embassy in the Philippines.

As of the last count, Licuanan said around 43 non-ECY groups have sought endorsements from Alarcon so they could apply for Schengen visas.

“They would be going to the WYD on their own,” Licuanan said.

He cited three reasons why there would be fewer WYD pilgrims this year.

“First, we are just coming out from the pandemic (COVID-19). Especially here in the Philippines, which still imposes some restrictions compared to Europe, because of the threat of the pandemic,” Licuanan said.

Second, he added, “the price of the airfare is higher nowadays compared to before. There are also families that experienced economic crises.”

While there are pilgrims who come from well-to-do families and could shoulder the expenses of their WYD journey, there are those who are helped by sponsors or institutions such as their parish or diocese, since they would be representing the diocese, in order to complete their requirements.

Also, while the WYD was originally set in 2021 and was deferred to this year, the venue is still in Portugal.

“Even if the WYD event was delayed by two years, Portugal’s encountered difficulties in its preparations in hosting the WYD because it too experienced restrictions caused by the pandemic,” Licuanan said.

The CBCP-ECY official said that he attended a preparatory meeting in Portugal last October.

“While Portugal was excited to host the international gathering that would be attended by many people, you could also sense that they had a shortage of personnel. They were calling for volunteers as early as last year to assist pilgrims who would be asking directions, for information and dissemination and mobilization,” Licuanan said.

Pope Francis is expected to attend the WYD meet, which will be held from Aug. 1 to 6 in Lisbon.

The WYD was initiated by then pope and now Saint John Paul II in 1985. It is a meeting of young people all over the world with the pope. There would be catechesis and delegates would have an opportunity to participate in cultural activities.