Koforidua, June 08, GNA - The International Pilgrimage of the World Youth Day Cross (WYDC) and Icon of Blessed Virgin Mary arrived at Koforidua on Thursday to a mammoth welcome by hundreds of Catholic Youth drawn from the Koforidua Diocese of the Church.

The Cross and Icon which arrived from Accra Archdiocese at about 0930 hours after similar tour of 14 out of the 18 Catholic Archdioceses/Dioceses, was met by the youth at the Effiduase Traffic Light and led in procession, amidst brass band music and placards, through the principal streets of Koforidua to Saint George's Catholic Cathedral.

They were carried into the Cathedral amidst traditional drumming, dancing and appellations in honour of Jesus Christ by members of the Catholic Youth Organisation (CYO) and students representatives from Catholic educational institutions in the Eastern Region. Nana Yaa Daani, Queen mother of New Juaben Traditional Area, joined the youth to herald the entry of the Cross and the Icon. Ghana is the second country in Africa after Senegal to receive the sacramental objects which began their international pilgrimage to all Catholic diocese as decreed by late Pope John Paul II at the close of the 1983-84 Holy Year.

Welcoming the Cross and Icon at the Cathedral, Very Rev. Father Andews Dunyo, Cathedral Administrator, described the day as "a momentous one in the annals of the diocese and the lives of the youth since the Cross and the Icon are powerful symbols of our redemption on pilgrimage to the diocese."

He urged them to allow the presence of the Cross to have memorable effect on their personal lives, saying, "Let it be a symbol of your interior pilgrimage and experience an interior purification." Addressing the congregation, Very Rev. Father Francis Twum-Barimah, Director of the Diocesan Pastoral Training Centre, described the WYDC, as "a symbol of Christ's love for humanity and a reflection on it would teach all to love others for our salvation just as Jesus loved and died for our salvation."

"Make fruitful use of the two objects pilgrimage to us today for spiritual salvation," he added. The youth and the faithful of the Church would later keep vigil with songs, prayers, talks and veneration of the Cross and Icon till tomorrow when before being taken to Jasikan Diocese on its trip to Ho and Keta-Akatsi Dioceses before entering the Republic of Togo next week.