“Let’s give a warm welcome to the Pope. Let’s live his arrival deeply. He is a man of dialogue, of peace and justice. His visit to our island will strengthen all these values our society needs”. About two weeks before Benedict XVI’s apostolic journey to Cyprus (4-6 June), this appeal is made by the Maronite archbishop of Cyprus, Youssef Soueif, who is the general coordinator of the visit for the Cypriot Catholic community. Today, from the pages of “O Typos ton Maroniton”, the archbishop speaks of the current state of the preparations: “There are lots of expectations, and we are excited at having the Pope here. We have directly involved the parishes in the preparations, all their components. We are in front of an epoch-making event. For three days, Cyprus will make the headlines all over the world, and this is a great advantage”.
So, it seems everything is ready, even if “we need help especially in the youth area. We need young people who can help those who will come for the celebrations”. Mgr. Soueif makes some predictions about this: “we are expecting 5 to 6 thousand people at the primary school of St. Maron in Nicosia (5 June), 6500 in the sporting facilities of Elefteria in Nicosia (6 June), and thousands more will watch the event on the large screens installed outdoors. 3-4 thousand will attend the ecumenical ceremony in the archaeological site of the Church of Agia Kiriaki Chrysopolitissa in Paphos (4 June)”. A similar appeal to be welcoming was also made by the Cypriot Orthodox Church: “it is a sign of love – mgr. Soueif states – and brotherhood”, a response to some negative articles about the Pope’s visit that appeared in the last few days on the press and on some posters. “In this visit – the Maronite archbishop concludes –, we will carry our long experience of multiculturalism, showing how Catholics, Orthodox and Muslims can live together, despite their religious differences”.