Bangladesh Welcomes World Youth Day Cross as It Journeys Toward Seoul

A grand reception and prayer service for the National Youth Cross was held with the participation of young people at the historic Holy Cross Parish in Luxmibazar, Old Dhaka, on September 9.

The prayer service was attended by parish priest Fr. Ujjal Linus Rosario; Fr. Diganta; Fr. Nikhil Gomes; Sr. Laily Rosario, RNDM; as well as several religious sisters, seminarians, and brothers and sisters from various hostels.

The late Pope Francis announced that the next World Youth Day will be held in Seoul, South Korea, in 2027. As part of the preparations for this significant event, the Youth Cross is traveling to different countries across Asia, where people are gathering to venerate and pray before the Cross.

As part of this journey, the Youth Cross, which arrived in Bangladesh, has now reached Luxmibazar Parish. The Cross was formally received and welcomed, followed by a time of prayer and veneration. The Youth Cross is also known as the Pilgrim Cross, Jubilee Cross, Holy Cross, and Youth Cross.

Pope John Paul II believed that those who gathered at St. Peter’s Basilica for pilgrimage should turn their eyes toward the Cross, because the Cross is the sign of our faith.

Therefore, in 1984, during the Holy Year of Redemption, the Holy Father invited young people to Rome on Palm Sunday. Nearly 300,000 young people responded to his invitation and gathered there.

The Holy Father placed a large Cross, measuring 3.8 meters, beside the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. At the conclusion of the Holy Year of Redemption, he entrusted the Cross to the young people, saying, “Carry this Cross throughout the world and bear witness to the love of Christ.”

He further said, “Proclaim that on the very Cross on which Christ offered his life, humanity finds redemption and salvation.”

From that moment, the Cross became a mission entrusted to young people to carry and proclaim throughout the world. It has since become a sign of faith, unity, and hope.

Responding to the Pope’s call, the young people carried the Cross to the San Lorenzo Youth Centre, located beside St. Peter’s Basilica. The Cross remained there until it began its journey to different parts of the world.

Since then, the Cross has traveled from country to country and from one generation to another as a sign of love, salvation, unity, and hope. The Holy Father recognized that young people are the future and the center of the Church.

They are a source of hope for both the Church and society because they possess immense potential, as well as determination and strength.

This vision of the Pope became a reality in 1985, when young people gathered once again in connection with the United Nations’ International Youth Year. Soon afterward, the Pope officially announced World Youth Day.

The first diocesan-level World Youth Day was celebrated locally in 1986. Internationally, the first World Youth Day celebrated outside Rome took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1987. Since then, this journey has continued.

Finally, carrying this Cross means carrying Christ himself, carrying his love, hope, and grace, embracing others with divine love, touching the lives of many people, and bringing transformation and hope into their lives. It means proclaiming the Gospel of the Cross.