HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (UCAN) -- Hundreds of clergy, Religious and lay Catholics will form the Vietnamese Church's official delegation to the 2008 World Youth Day (WYD) celebration in Sydney, Australia.

Bishop Joseph Vu Van Thien of Hai Phong, chairman of the Episcopal Commission for Youth of the Vietnam Bishops' Conference, told UCA News on June 29 that 70 bishops and priests, 50 Religious and 244 laypeople from the country's 26 dioceses have already registered with the commission.

"The 364 official delegates is a record for Vietnamese delegations, because only tens of delegates attended previous WYD celebrations," he noted.

Bishop Thien said many other people who have not registered with the commission will also fly to Sydney for the WYD celebration. They will enter Australia as tourists or people who visit their relatives, he said. He estimated a total of 600 Vietnamese will attend the event.

Many people will attend WYD since prices of plane tickets are low, people today are economically better off than before, and it is easier for local people to get passports and visas, the bishop observed. From his diocese, he said, four priests and one layman will attend the Sydney events.

The Church leader explained that since the commission has no funds, those who have registered have to pay their own round-trip airfare, amounting to US$1,200 a person. Vietnamese Australians will sponsor free tents around the city, food and local travel expenses to and from WYD events, he added.

Bishop Thien, 48, said he has asked the Holy See for financial support for the Vietnamese delegation, and the Holy See promised to attend to the matter after the WYD celebration. "We will share the money with dioceses so that they can pay some of their delegates' expenses," he added.

Delegates in groups from various dioceses will fly to Melbourne, where they will attend pastoral activities and sightseeing tours of the city that Vietnamese Australians have arranged for July 6-13. The groups will then gather in Sydney on July 14.

During the July 15-20 WYD celebration, Bishop Thien said the Vietnamese delegation will perform a seven-minute set of local dances on the evening of July 16 at the Asian Youth Gathering. Women will be dressed in traditional ao dai and non la, conical hats woven from fronds, and men in traditional clothes and turbans, he added.

Pierre Nguyen Cong Lich, a lay Catholic from Vinh, told UCA News three priests and seven lay Catholics aged 20-55 from that northern diocese would fly to Melbourne on July 2.

Lich, 47, who has provided free accommodation and computer training for disabled people at his home for years, said, "Most of us will go abroad and attend an international gathering for the first time, so we will try to learn something useful from the celebration and faith practices of young people from other countries."

The man, two of whose three children are paralyzed and bedridden, said he will record the WYD events to share with local youths.

Lich admitted that the biggest challenge for some of them will be dealing with English. Luckily, he added, Vietnamese is one of seven languages that will be used at some main sessions during the event.

"I hope to see Pope Benedict XVI at the event. That will be the happiest moment in my life," he stated.

Father Raphael Tran Xuan Nhan is one of three priests from Vinh diocese who will attend the celebration. He told UCA News local youths hope to gain much directly through faith sharing and social activities, as well as learn from foreign youths about HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, pro-life activities and anti-abortion campaigns.

Father Jean Baptiste Nguyen Tan Sang, who heads the My Tho diocesan youth committee, told UCA News 22 Catholics from his southern diocese will attend the WYD celebration. They hope the celebration will provide opportunities to meet other youths, share faith experiences from different contexts and deepen their faith so they can serve people better and build a culture of love and truth.

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