The families are asked to be prepared to welcome these young people during the night.  The hosts will not be faced with any costs;  meals will be eaten in the hundreds of food points which the Italian Committee for the 15^th World Day of Youth has prepared.  “Every time I have appealed to you, I have felt your generosity with my own hand”, Cardinal Ruini said to the families.  Moreover, he stresses: “The young people who are coming from Africa and Oceania do not have great needs”. It is not merely a matter of organisation;  it also involves giving greater meaning to the Jubilee of the Young People, making it a genuine Feast of Welcome.  “Let us welcome them with simplicity”, the Cardinal Vicar goes on;  All that is needed is a few feet of floor each, for their sleeping-bags;  a roof over their heads, and a smaile.  The young pilgrims are coming from far away:  let’s make them feel at home”.

Considering the good response which came in the first phase of “operation welcome”, the diocese of Rome has also celebrated the “Diocesan Day of Awareness in view of the World Day of Youth”.  On previous WDY occasions the pleasures of welcome in a family have already been experienced, and for this reason too many young Italians have decided to offer their friends of WDY 2000 hospitality in their own homes.  “Many – indeed, we hope very many – of the young people”, concludes Cardinal Ruini, “will come on pilgrimage from all over the world for their Jubilee and their Day.  They will meet their Italian contemporaries, and above all they will meet the Pope.  They will pray and sing and celebrate together.  These will be unforgettable days for them, the young people, but also for our city.”