Zagreb, (IKA) – Prior to the Prayer Vigil with the Pope on Saturday, June 4, an extensive and varied program has been prepared for young people in Zrinski Park and on Ban Josip Jelačić Square. A special program, Youth Festival, featuring the Zagreb band All Colors of Love (Sve boje ljubavi) and dancing, will begin at 11 a.m. at the pavilion in Zrinski Park. Young persons dressed as the twelve apostles and six Croatian saints and beati will tell those assembled about their lives, answer questions, distribute pictures and pose for photographs. At the stands, the young will be able to write messages to the Pope or draw something. Pilgrimage maps and promotional materials about activities for young people in the Croatian (arch)dioceses will be distributed at several information stands.

At Ban Jelačić Square during the period designated for the arrival of young people from 2:30 to 4 p.m., there will be music videos and songs for the occasion of the Pope’s visit to Croatia. In addition, the winning songs from the Easter Festival and religious chansons will be heard.

At 4 p.m., film clips and hymns from the previous Encounters of Croatian Catholic Youth will be shown, thereby reminding those assembled of the large gatherings held in Rijeka (2000), Osijek (2002), Šibenik (2004), Pula (2006), Varaždin (2008) and Zadar (2010).

The preliminary program on Ban Josip Jelačić Square will begin at 4:30 p.m. with greetings to all the assembled young people. The joy of communion with Christ expressed in the song Fisherman’s Net (Mreža ribara) will be witnessed by young people from Slavonia and Subotica. This will be followed by a Band Aid of commissioners for pastoral ministry to the young from the Croatian maritime (arch)dioceses, consisting of Don Marinko Mlakić (Šibenik), Don Zdenko Dundović (Zadar), Don Saša Ilijić (Krk) and Don Ante Matulić (Hvar) with the song “Lead Me” (Vodi me), which testifies to their priestly vocation.

At 4:45 p.m., there will be entertainment provided by young people from various metropolises and abroad. This section will conclude with the official hymn of the Prayer Vigil with the Young, “Together in Christ” (Zajedno u Kristu) performed by the Archdiocesan Youth Choir. The song was released in late February by the members of the young persons’ prayer group God’s Victory (Božja pobjeda) from the Jarun section of Zagreb. The basic motif of the hymn is a call for communion in the Lord, the confession of faith in the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit that unites us into one body. The psalmist wrote: “The Lord dwells in the praises of his people,” and this song expresses the call for young people to participate with their hearts in the praise of the Lord.

From 5 to 5:30 p.m., music at the square will be provided by the Archdiocesan Youth Choir and Salesian Youth, accompanied by specially formed chamber orchestra. The first group of songs will consist of “Mighty Lord” (Silan Bog); “Hosana”; “Glory, O Glory” (Slava, o slava); “Sing to All” (Pjevaj svima) and “Yes, Lord.”

At 5:30 p.m., young people from the Parish of Punat in the Diocese of Krk will present a biblical dance with important scenes from the Old Testament to the death of Jesus on the Cross. The dance shows that God has been present among people from the creation of the world until today, in his love and care for us. This love achieves its ultimate expression in Jesus Christ. Through dance, images from the Old and New Testaments will be conjured: Genesis, Exodus, David and Goliath, Elijah and the prophets of Baal, Samson, the Coming of the Messiah, the passion and death of Jesus Christ, and victory over sin. Through these images, the young from the Diocese of Krk wish to demonstrate that communion with the Lord continues through the entire history of salvation, achieving its climax in Jesus Christ.

For 5:40 p.m., young people from the Archdiocese of Split-Makarska of the organization Hrvatsko nadzemlje have prepred a short film entitled “Welcome to the Pope!” (Dobrodošlica Papi!).

From 5:50 to 6:20 p.m., the author of many religious chansons and General Assistant of the Secular Franciscan Order and Franciscan Youth (FRAMA), Fra Ivan Matić, will entertain the young people with his songs: “May You Be Glorified” (Neka te slave), “Teacher, Where Do You Live” (Učitelju, gdje stanuješ) and “Only Your Love, Lord” (Samo tvoja ljubav, Bože).

At 6:20 p.m. will begin a moment of prayer before the picture of Our Lady of the Stone Gate. The painting of the protectress of the city of Zagreb will be brought from the cathedral to the area of the altar on Ban Josip Jelačić Square by four girls in folk costumes, as part of a procession that includes representatives of all the Croatian (arch)dioceses wearing the traditional garb of their regions. This moment of prayer will be enhanced by candidates for the priesthood from the Archdiocesan Theological Seminary in Zagreb with the song “All Tongues in One Voice” (Svi u glas jezici), a meditation on Mary’s acceptance of God’s call and the praying of a decade of the rosary.

From 6:40 p.m., there will be testimony from Don Ivan Filipović of the Community Cenacolo about recovering drug addicts, accompanied by the dance “Masks,” which speaks about the path from darkness to light. He will talk about young people who entered the world of drugs, loneliness, selfishness and materialism. They covered all of this with false smiles and colorful masks, nice clothes and arrogant behavior but in fact were puppets on the stage of worldly vanity. They were marionettes without feeling, who danced to someone else’s tune. However Jesus, the friend of sinners, invited these people to his home, to the Community Cenacolo. Hope shone and light appeared. They came to know friendship, truth, prayer, love and community.

From 6:55 to 7:15 p.m., the Archdiocesan Youth Choir will sing “Together in Christ” (Zajedno u Kristu), “My Jesus (Moj Isus), “Messiah” (Mesija), “Of Love I Sing” (O ljubavi ja pjevam), “He Comes to Save Us” (On dolazi da spasi nas) and “You Are Great” (Velik si).
This will be followed by anticipation of the arrival of the Holy Father, during which the song “Our God is Great” (Naš Bog je velik) will be sung.