Diocese of Vila Real starts JMJ cross pilgrimage

The Diocese of Vila Real has begun a pilgrimage of a World Youth Day cross replica through its parishes and villages to promote the 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul. The journey started on Saturday at the Church of Our Lady of Conception in Vila Real.

The replica was provided to Portuguese dioceses by the organizers of World Youth Day Lisbon 2023. This follows the 2022 pilgrimage of the original cross, which Pope John Paul II entrusted to young people in 1984.

The inaugural event included a discussion led by the Jeochua youth group, where participants shared memories of international Church events ranging from the 2000 World Youth Day in Rome to the 2025 Youth Jubilee. Following the discussion, the cross was handed to representatives from parishes in the western zone of the Central I deanery. The event concluded with a Mass celebrated by the local parish priest, Monsignor Fernando Miranda.