As of Wednesday 335,437
young people have signed up for the Catholic Church's 31st World
Youth Day, to be held in the Polish city of Krakow from July
26-31.
Organizers said anywhere between 1.5 and 1.8 million people
are expected at the Campus of Mercy, a 255-hectare area where
most of the main events will take place.
Another 300,000 are expected in the city of Czestochowa.
The largest groups are, in descending order, Polish,
Italian, French, Spanish, American, German, Ukrainian and
Portuguese.
Also expected are almost 1,000 bishops and some 70
cardinals in what could be the largest assembly of Catholic
high-ranking clergy since the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65,
said Polish bishops spokesman Father Pawel Rytel-Andrianik.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said there are
no specific security concerns.
"There are no particular security concerns in Poland (and)
no changes have been made in the preparations," he said. "They
recently hosted a NATO summit and everything went smoothly".
Lombardi had been asked about possible security issues in
the wake of a Bastille Day terrorist attack in Nice that claimed
84 lives.
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