KATHMANDU (UCAN) -- Armed with new passports but still awaiting visas, a small group of young Nepalese Catholics is preparing to go to Germany for the World Youth Day celebration with Pope Benedict XVI.

"We are staying at the church and praying that we are granted visas by the German embassy," said Santlal Murmu, one of the six delegates, most of them converts to Catholicism. They were chosen from five of Nepal's six parishes to represent local Catholic youth at the international event scheduled for Aug. 16-21 in Cologne. The group is staying at Assumption Church in Kathmandu.

Murmu, a 23-year-old tribal youth, had just arrived in the capital on July 26 with two other young men after a 16-hour bus ride on muddy roads from eastern Nepal. Monsoon rain on the roads is not the only hazard. Maoist guerrillas regularly call strikes, block roads and attack vehicles.

For the three young men and the fellow travelers they joined in the capital, however, the biggest fear is not getting visas from the German embassy to attend the celebration at which Pope Benedict is to preside.

"Getting visas, especially to Europe, is a tricky business these days," acknowledges Salesian Father Martin Lakra, youth chaplain for Kathmandu. "There is no guarantee when many Nepali youth are seeking to escape the political situation and go and work abroad illegally."

Father Lakra, who will accompany the youth to Germany with a Congregation of Jesus nun, also from India, said they had to be interviewed at the embassy and then await the decision on their applications.

The youth are spending their time practicing cultural songs and dances, and refining their use of the "sarangi," a Nepalese violin, for their performance at the "Asian Youth Gathering" on Aug. 17, the second day of activities.

None of the six delegates come from rich families or have been on an airplane before, according to Salesian Father Augusty Pulickal, the national youth chaplain. He said they were chosen because they were actively involved in youth work for at last three years, intended to continue in this, and had at least a working knowledge of the English language, sufficient for travel and participation in international events.

"We had to make sure not even the close relations of youth who had got a chance earlier -- to attend former international youth days -- would be selected," added Father Pullickal, who is helping prepare the group for Germany. He accompanied a group to the World Youth Day celebration in Canada in 2002, the last one attended by Pope John Paul II. The late pope, who instituted the annual day, made a point of attending the major international celebrations, usually held every other year.

Monsignor Anthony Sharma, apostolic prefect of Nepal, told UCA News "finances are tight." The Vatican is paying for the team's air travel, and a German priest is paying their registration fees. The Jesuit prelate added that he hoped they would receive their visas.

Most members of this year's group were not born Catholics. Murmu, from the eastern mission station of Sirsiya, said his parents are still Hindu and that he was baptized only three years ago. One of the two delegates from Kathmandu, Krishna Khanal, also is 23 and was baptized three years ago. Om Jacob Kathet, 22, from Damak in the east, said his Hindu family converted to Catholicism 12 years ago.

The only young woman in the group is 25-year-old Chandru Acharya. Her mother is a catechist in the parish in Dharan, another eastern parish, but Acharya said her family converted only 10 years ago. Another young woman was selected from Deoniya, the remaining parish in eastern Nepal, but she could not produce the citizenship certificate needed to obtain a passport.

"We will leave in a happy mood and should be back in an even happier mood ... if we all get visas," said Augustine Thakuri, 16, the youngest delegate.

The sixth youth member of the team, Paras Bhujel, from Pokhara parish in midwestern Nepal, is looking beyond that hurdle. Like some others, he has decided to use his baptismal name while abroad. "You can call me Francis," he told UCA News with a smile.

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(Accompanying photos available at here)