World Youth Day Cross, Marian Icon Visit Elmhurst Parish

ELMHURST, IL — Immaculate Conception Parish in Elmhurst will be visited on the world-wide tour of the official World Youth Day Cross and Marian Icon. According to the parish, Immaculate Conception will be the only parish in the Joliet diocese to host the 13 foot cross and the Icon of Mary.

The visit will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 21. Students from both IC Catholic Prep and Immaculate Conception grade school will participate in official ceremonies with the cross and Marian Icon, according to a release.

These symbols have traveled around the world since Pope St. John Paul II presented them to young people at the first World Youth Day in Rome in 1984. According to the release, he also gifted an icon of Our Lady to travel with the cross. World Youth Day 2019 will be held in Panama in January 2019.

The Cross and Icon will travel across the country from Sunday, Aug. 19 to Monday, Aug. 27. The five stops along its U.S. journey will include, in order: Chicago, Miami, Houston, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

Image via Shutterstock.