They were taking part weekend-long event to mark World Youth Day 2016 (WYD).

170 students from across the South Island attended the event. Organiser Abina Pope said WYD was "an opportunity for students of the same age to come together, share ideas and listen to various members of religious organisations".

Activities included volunteer work at the City Mission, a barbecue on Saturday night and a disco held at the Catholic Cathedral College.

On Sunday students walked an inter-faith pilgrimage through Christchurch, visiting religious locations across the city including the Transitional Cathedral on Hereford St.

The cross was place inside the perimeter of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament site "to assure the people of Canterbury we are strong in our faith and we will rebuild."

The organisers of the local event wanted to depict the pilgrimage of the symbols of WYD, The Holy Year Cross, and the icon of Our Lady Salus Populi Romani, through Europe.

The WYD symbols were handed over by the Brazilian youth to the youth of Poland in Rome on Palm Sunday 2014.

After visiting five Polish dioceses (of Poznan, Kalisz, Wloclawek, Warsaw-Praga and Siedlce), the cross and the icon set out on a journey through Central and East European countries.

They were in Belorus, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Moldavia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The symbols returned to Poland on December 14, 2014, and travelled several thousand kilometres around country.

On July 25, the Cross and the Icon were placed in the Adoration Tent on the grounds of the Jordana Park in Krakow, from where they were driven to the places of celebrations with Pope Francis.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• www.krakow2016.com
• pope2016.com
• Image: stuff.co.nz

One video with a group of dancing nuns from the order of the Polish saint, St. Faustina.

The dancing nuns video has gone viral! Watch the video

During those seven days, it won't really matter if they're left, center or right-wing Catholics. It won't matter on what side of the liturgical wars they stand in, if they're discerning a religious vocation, or if they simply tagged along because they thought it'd be fun.

For seven days, the quest will be much more about finding pilgrims from the furthest geographical region - Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, Australia, told Crux last week that the right answer would be Aussies, although of course, for Australians the search will be directed somewhere else.

Here are seven facts or initiatives that are perhaps unknown about #Krakow2016:

Francis' chasuble and the throwaway culture

Papal vestments during a visit abroad are usually the responsibility of the host country. During his visits, Francis has used liturgical clothing created for the occasion by indigenous communities, religious sisters and even inmates.

The liturgical vestments Francis will don during World Youth Day (WYD) were created for the occasion by a group of Iraqi refugee girls living in Jordan. According to their own words, the vestments were done with the "left-over materials" of their clothes collection,Made by Iraqi girls, considered a success story amidst so much suffering among Christian refugees.

"We too were thrown away by the evil men who expelled us from our land," they wrote in a letter addressed to Francis and published by WYD's website. "We made these vestments recycling pieces of fabric. But the beautiful things, useful to give glory to the Lord, often come from what is rejected."

The young women were supposed to attend the event, but because of their refugee status, their visas were denied. Continue reading

Sources

• Article by Inés San Martín, Vatican correspondent for Crux.
• Image: Focus Missions