Papal cross arrives in North West

Pope John Paul II donated the cross

A wooden cross presented to the youth of the world by Pope John Paul II arrived in Liverpool on Sunday.

The Cross can be seen at a special ecumenical youth event at 1800GMT in Christ the King Church, Childwall.

Earlier in the day it took pride of place at a packed service in Salford RC Cathedral.

Sunday's events are part of preparations for the twentieth World Youth Day, to be held in Cologne - Liverpool's twin city - in 2005.

Continuous focus of prayer

The World Youth Day International Celebrations take place every two to three years and the 12 ft high cross was presented by the Pope prior to the first held in Rome in 1984.

Since that time it has been handed on from groups of young people in villages, towns and cities throughout the world as a continuous focus of prayer.

It has been present at international gatherings in Argentina, Spain, Poland, America, the Philippines, France, Italy and Canada.

The Cross arrived in England on Thursday 8 January and within four days had been seen by 7,500 young people, many of them in London.

Multi-denominational service

The Most Reverend Patrick Kelly, Archbishop of Liverpool, will lead Sunday's service together with other Merseyside Church Leaders.

Father Karl-Josef Schurf, Youth Chaplain to Liverpool's Twin City of Cologne, will also be present.

The Celebration has been planned by young people from different denominations and will include personal testimonies, music, dance and multi-media worship.

Father Stephen Pritchard, Youth Chaplain in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, says: "This is a unique event and one which perfectly launches our preparations for World Youth Day in Cologne next year."