By Father Mariusz Frukacz
CZESTOCHOWA, Poland, JULY 25, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Pilgrims focused on making the new millennium an «age of saints» journeyed to two of Poland’s spiritual sites last week.
The pilgrimage theme of «Make the new millennium an age of saints» is drawn from Pope John Paul II and provided the message for the first such event organized by members of the Polish bishops’ Work of the New Millennium Foundation and by the young people the group assists.
The Polish cities of Czestochowa and Jasna Gora were the destinations of the pilgrimage, which took place last Monday through Thursday.
The foundation financially assists young people without the means to acquire an education.
The pilgrimage gathered some 2,500 people and marked the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the group, inspired by John Paul II.
“The Work of the New Millennium Foundation is the living monument to John Paul II,” Father Jan Drob, the president of the foundation’s council, told ZENIT.
During the pilgrimage, participants attended Mass in Czestochowa in the Cathedral of the Holy Family, presided over by the archbishop there, Stanislaw Nowak.
There was another gathering at the National Shrine of the Black Madonna in Jasna Gora and in the Church of St. Adalbert in Czestochowa.
The weekly Catholic newspaper “Niedziela” was among the sponsors of the pilgrimage. Monsignor Ireneusz Skubiś, director of “Niedziela,” explained: “We participated with joy in the great event dedicated to young people and to the memory of John Paul II.
«We must remember the words of the Servant of God John Paul II according to which young people are the hope of the Church in the contemporary world.”
Since its founding in 2000, around 2,500 students have benefitted from the assistance of the Work of the New Millennium Foundation in primary schools, secondary schools and universities.
Every year the foundation also organizes a “Pope Day” dedicated to the figure and life of John Paul II.
