Speaking to Lusa, the national director of Youth Pastoral of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST), Father Armando Pio Alberto, said that preparations are underway, despite the country's own problems and the adjustment of the foreign exchange market.
The Catholic priest realized that, at the moment, 1513 Angolans have already registered for WYD Lisbon 2023, many of them from the diaspora, and around 600 participants are expected to travel from Angola to meet Pope Francis.
According to Father Armando Pio Alberto, most of the caravan coming from Angola is made up of young people from the youth ministry and the adults who work with them, for greater control in terms of mobility in Lisbon.
"This measure of ours arises, above all because of emigration, because these are the guarantee that they go and come back so as not to dirty the name of the country", he explained, alluding to cases in which caravans return incomplete to the country of origin due to the flight of members.
The Angolan bishop of Cabinda and president of the Episcopal Commission for Youth Pastoral, Scouting and Vocational Pastoral of CEAST, Belmiro Chissengueti, will lead the Angolan delegation to WYD, with the Angolan Secretary of State for Youth representing the government.
Father Armando Pio Alberto also stressed that the Angolan caravan leaves for Lisbon on the 25th of this month, but a day before the sending mass takes place at the Sagrada Familia Church, in Luanda.
"But, before this date, the volunteers who have applied to provide services in these WYDs will leave on the 19th of June and their sending mass will be on the 16th", stressed the official.
WYD Lisbon 2023 takes place between the 1st and 6th of August, with the main initiatives taking place in Lisbon, in Parque Eduardo VII, in the Belém area and in Parque Tejo (north of Parque das Nações and in lands in the municipalities of Lisbon and Loures).
