WYD. Deacon who accompanies young Cape Verdeans says that "no one is missing"

According to the Lusa agency, one of the deacons who accompany Cape Verdean pilgrims to the World Youth Day (WYD) said today that "no one is missing" and that some young people chose to stay in Lisbon instead of participating in activities in Leiria.

Deacon José Manuel Vaz, who accompanied one of the four delegations from the island of Santiago that, between July 25 and last Wednesday, arrived in Lisbon, expressed his astonishment at the news that reported the disappearance of pilgrims from Cabo -Verdians and Angolans.

The Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) reported today that almost 200 Cape Verdean and Angolan pilgrims did not attend the Leiria-Fátima Diocese, in whose activities they were registered.

"It's 'fake news'. No one is missing and no pilgrim is obliged to participate in diocesan activities", indicated the deacon.

And he added: "Some pilgrims who arrived in Lisbon chose to stay in the city, where they found accommodation with family and friends, instead of going to Leiria to participate in the activities. No one informed that the activities were mandatory".

"Do you want to know where these pilgrims are? Come on the journey and you will find them", he said.

Reminding that pilgrims have an 18-day visa, after which they cannot stay in Portugal, the priest added: "No one guarantees that, after that period, some pilgrims will not stay in Portugal, but that is a problem that has nothing to do with to do with participating in the journey".

Contacted by Lusa, the Cape Verdean ambassador in Portugal, Eurico Correia Monteiro, considered that "it may be too early to formulate safe judgments about this incident and its causes".

"It may be hasty to draw conclusions at this point, and conclusive judgments should be reserved for a later time", he added.

And he recalled that "only the Portuguese administrative authorities and the Cape Verdean and Portuguese ecclesiastical authorities may possibly have relevant information about this case".

For his part, the press officer of the Embassy of Angola in Portugal, Vitor Carvalho, told Lusa that this diplomatic representation is not aware of the alleged disappearance of Angolan pilgrims.

The organization of WYD indicated today that it is monitoring "with tranquility" the situation of Angolan and Cape Verdean pilgrims, ensuring that the agreed protocol has been activated in cases of "non-attendance" of participants in the event.

"The organization is monitoring the situation calmly and with full confidence in public entities. The protocol agreed for this type of case has been activated", said the spokeswoman for the World Youth Day Foundation (WYD), Rosa Pedroso Lima, in Press conference.

The official later explained to Lusa that the pilgrims in question did not attend the 'check-in' of the host location.

On Monday, the diocese of Leiria-Fátima reported the "absence of 106 pilgrims from foreign groups of Angolan and Cape Verdean nationality welcomed in three parishes of the diocese", a number that the SEF updated today to 195 young people (168 Cape -Verdians and 27 Angolans).

In a statement, the Internal Security System said that the authorities had taken "monitoring measures" on these 106 Angolan and Cape Verdean pilgrims.

This group was "duly registered" in the World Youth Day and entered "regularly and by air in the national territory", according to the Internal Security System (SSI).

However, these pilgrims did not carry out the 'check-in' in the diocese of Leiria-Fátima, as planned, he added.

At least 1,518 Angolans, residing in Angola and in the diaspora, signed up to participate in WYD Lisbon 2023 and 518 pilgrims are expected to embark from Luanda for this meeting with Pope Francis. From Cape Verde, a total of 913 Cape Verdeans are expected to participate, including religious.

Only 400 young people in the entourage

However, the newspaper A Nação reported this Tuesday that of the 913 Cape Verdeans who were due to participate in the World Youth Day starting today, there are just over 400 left, reported today the deacon Daniel Vaz.

The Cidadela newspaper writes that the Cape Verdean delegation to the World Youth Day, which is in Portugal, currently accounts for just over 400 people, that is, approximately half of the entourage that left Cape Verde. The weekly cites statements made by the spokesperson for the Cape Verdean delegation, deacon Daniel Vaz, to RCV, according to which the deserters must assume their responsibilities and answer to the authorities.

Daniel Vaz explained, however, that the church is not responsible for anyone's actions and that it only speaks of pilgrims who, in fact, are taking part in WYD activities. “It is one thing to say the number of people who left Cape Verde and another thing is to say how many pilgrims came to WYD. For the journey, we have just over 400 young people at the moment”, he informed.

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WYD, which will be attended by Pope Francis, starts today in Lisbon and ends on Sunday.