A group of about 100 volunteers from the Universidad Católica de Murcia, who will participate in the XXXVII World Youth Day, left from the Campus of Los Jerónimos to Lisbon last Sunday. They will participate in the organisation of this event, to be held from 1 to 6 August in the capital of Portugal. The theme of this edition is ‘Mary arose and went with haste’ and will be presided over by His Holiness Pope Francis.

The expedition is made up of students, teachers and administrative and service staff who, during their stay in the Portuguese capital will actively participate in several services, such as logistics management, support to pilgrims and the participation of health sciences profiles in health care systems.

María Dolores García, UCAM President, met with the volunteers before they took the buses which will take them to Lisbon. She encouraged them to ‘put yourselves at the service of the young people who are going to participate, the Lord will make the Holy Spirit act in you and enable you to give your life for others.’

The members of the expedition from Murcia were very happy to be able to take part in this great event, dedicating much of their time to help the pilgrims who will arrive in Portugal from five continents. One and a half million young people are estimated to take part in this great event, some 75,000 of them from Spain and hundreds from the Region of Murcia.

María Mendoza, leader and member of the university expedition, emphasised that the volunteers who are going to participate in this edition are going to go the extra mile to put themselves at the service of others. The UCAM representative said that ‘the event will help them replenish their energy and spread the joy and importance of serving others, proving how important it is to have God in mind and how wonderful life is.’

Participation in other editions

UCAM has been participating in the World Youth Days for years. The first participation of UCAM volunteers took place in the one celebrated in 2005 in Cologne (Germany), presided over by Benedict XVI. Since then, they have continued to cooperate in the following editions celebrated in different countries such as Brazil, Spain, Poland and Panama.