Pope to give new meaning to religious text

SYDNEY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI will give a new meaning to the term religious text by sending "inspirational messages" to mobile phones during Catholic World Youth day in Australia, organisers said Wednesday.

World Youth Day coordinator bishop Anthony Fisher said the 81-year-old Pope would go hi-tech at the July event, expected to attract hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Sydney, by reaching young people "in their social space".

"We wanted to make WYD08 a unique experience by using new ways to connect with today's tech-savvy youth," Fisher said.

He said the Pope would send out daily inspirational messages to pilgrims in Australia, while catechesis -- religious instruction in the form of questions and answers -- would be broadcast on the web.

World Youth Day will also have an online social networking site and digital prayer walls will be set up at event venues.

"WYD08 will be the most innovative World Youth Day to date," Fisher said.

The Pope is due to arrive in Australia on July 13 and spend three days on holiday at a secret location before his official welcome to Sydney at a harbourside ceremony on July 17.

He will spend three days celebrating World Youth Day then depart for Rome on July 21.

The first World Youth Day was held in Rome in 1986 and the event is now held in an international host city every two to three years. The last was in Cologne, Germany, in 2005.

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