Rio not yet formally chosen for next World Youth Day, Church leaders caution

August 08, 2011

Although the mayor of Rio de Janeiro has already announced that World Youth Day will be held in the Brazilian city in 2013, the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro has cautioned that no final decision on a site has been made.

The usual protocol calls for the Pope to close an international World Youth Day celebration by announcing the site for the next such event. But Mayor Eduard Paes last reporters that Rio would host the event in 2013, adding that an official announcement would come later this month—no doubt a reference to the formal announcement at World Youth Day in Madrid.

But the Rio de Janeiro archdiocese has said that the mayor’s statement should be seen as an expression of the hopes of the Brazilian people, rather than as a final decision. The Pope has not yet made a commitment, an archdiocesan spokesman observed.

The choice of Rio as the site for the next World Youth Day celebration has been widely rumored for several weeks. The announcement by Mayor Paes was almost certainly accurate. But his violation of protocol has apparently prompted Church officials to underline that the Pope, not the mayor, should make the official announcement.

 

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Further information:

• Mayor only expressed Rio's desire to host 2013 World Youth Day, says archdiocese (CNA)
• Pope will attend WYD in Rio in 2013, mayor claims (CWN, 8/2)