NEW DELHI (UCAN) -- Ethnic dances and folk songs will showcase India's vibrant cultures at World Youth Day, say young Catholics heading to Germany.

The Indian delegates see the event as an opportunity to demonstrate "the vibrancy" of the Catholic faith in their country, says Albert Romanto, secretary of the Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM).

Romanto, 26, told UCA News that young people from India's different regions and cultures gathered in New Delhi for several days to rehearse tribal and ethnic dances and songs, as well as skits and folk songs they will perform in Germany to help other people understand India's "colors and cultural variety."

About 400 Indians are expected to attend the gathering, says Father Alwyn D'Souza, secretary of the Indian bishops' Youth Commission. The commission is leading a 220-member delegation that represents India's 12 Church regions and includes the commission's regional officials, priests and nuns.

The first official group of 106 people left for Germany on Aug. 4, and the second group was to leave on Aug. 7. About 1 million young Catholics from 150 nations are expected to take part in the Aug. 16-21 event in Cologne that Pope Benedict XVI is also scheduled to attend.

Father D'Souza told UCA News that the Indian delegates view the trip as a pilgrimage and an opportunity for cultural exchanges with young people from other countries. The first show of cultural performances the young Indians plan to present in Germany is scheduled to take place on Aug. 14 at an "Indo-German Day." They will reprise their performances during the larger world event.

Among the youths with whom UCA News spoke before they left for Europe, M.K. John, 28, of Imphal archdiocese in northeastern India, said he was "preparing very carefully" for the event because "it should not be just a mere tour." He said it should be a pilgrimage and spiritual tour in which he can experience God and get exposure so as to improve his future service to his diocese.

Geeta Catherine, 25, from northern India's Jalandhar diocese, said she looks forward to meeting many people with different cultures, backgrounds, languages and food habits, while World Youth Day will be "a platform to share ideas and views," said 24-year-old Jennifer Fernandes from Bombay archdiocese in western India. "I am curious to learn from other countries their ways of faith and lifestyle," Fernandes said. She also said she regards the tour as a pilgrimage to "learn more about oneself and God and life, and come closer to God."

Besides the official delegation, many other youths are going in their own groups, including Jesus Youth, a charismatic youth movement from Kerala that is sending 150 members to Germany. C.C. Manoj, the movement's spokesperson, said its music wing, Rex Band, has prepared a program for the world event that will stress the "Indian ethos of the Church." He added that his members call their trip a "Pilgrimage of Faith" because they plan to visit Lourdes, Rome and other pilgrimage sites after the World Youth Day program ends on Aug. 21.

Not all Indian delegates are Catholics. A delegation of three women from Gujarat, western India, includes a Hindu and a Muslim, says Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash, who runs a Church human-rights center that sponsored the delegation. "An all-Christian presence would not have represented India in its real sense," he explained to UCA News. "We wanted other countries to feel how united and peaceful we are in our multicultural coexistence."

The Youth Commission of the Indian bishops' is partially sponsoring its delegates, Father D'Souza said. Each delegate is expected to pay 60,000-70,000 rupees (US$1,380-1,600) for the air ticket and other World Youth Day expenses.

According to Father Elias D'Souza, youth director of Mangalore diocese in southern India, that is "huge money" for most young people. Only two youth delegates from Mangalore are going, both from the same family and sponsored by relatives in Germany. "Our people consider it as a waste of money," he said.

Several Church officials told UCA News they selected young people to attend the event in Germany based on their participation in youth activities in their home dioceses and ability to share their experiences when they return home.

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(Accompanying photos available at here)