The Prime Minister, António Costa, said today that the municipalities, especially Lisbon and Loures, will be “the great net beneficiaries” of the investment made in connection with World Youth Day (WYD), which takes place this week in that region.
“These days are citizenship days and are naturally made with the territory, for the territory”, he said, considering that the municipalities “will be the great heirs of what material remains of these days”.
António Costa said that “the spiritual will surely remain in the hearts of believers, in the hearts of all this generation that will participate and of what will reach every corner of the world from the message that His Holiness will leave here to the new generations”.
“But from a material point of view, it is really the three municipalities, in particular Lisbon and Loures, that will be the great net beneficiaries of all the investment that has been made in the transformation of this territory”, he stressed.
Costa was today at the headquarters of the Internal Security System in Lisbon, where he attended a briefing on the articulation and coordination of the different operational and tactical commands.
A moment earlier, he also attended the last meeting of the Accompanying Committee before the start of WYD.
The Prime Minister – who was accompanied by the Minister of State and Parliamentary Affairs, Ana Catarina Mendes, the Minister of Justice, Catarina Sarmento e Castro, the Minister of Internal Affairs, José Luís Carneiro, and also by the President of the WYD Foundation, Bishop Américo Aguiar – thanked the work of the different entities involved in all aspects of the preparation of the day.
The Head of Government highlighted the work of the municipalities involved, which he considered “indispensable, because without the municipalities it was not possible to carry out this day”.
“Obviously to the municipality of Lisbon, which has been a partner in this project from the outset, the municipality of Loures, which has grasped this great opportunity to transform the Bobadela waterfront with both hands, and a very special thanks to the Municipality of Oeiras, which, at a very difficult time in these days, came forward, as is the habit of the municipality of Oeiras, and responded present and where it saw problems it presented solutions and helped to solve many of the problems “, he stressed.
António Costa also said that “the days will only now begin and, therefore, if the preparation was demanding, this week will certainly be much more demanding, but also more rewarding”, arguing that, for those who serve the public cause “the more demanding” the challenge, “the more pleasure” it gives.
Considered the biggest event of the Catholic Church, WYD takes place in Lisbon between August 1 and 6, with the presence of Pope Francis, and more than a million people are expected.
