Yep. 10,000 Kilometers of thread, 40 Kilometers of Chasuble, 15 Kilometers of Albs, and 5 Kilometers of Purifiers are needed for the 2011 World Youth Day Celebration in Madrid coming this summer. But no fear, Spanish parishes, Convents and Parishioners are in full force in sewing the gargantuan task.

At the World Youth Day headquarters, one of the most frequently heard expressions is: “Many hands make light work”. This great celebration of faith is truly only made possible with the help of a large number of people. Now, under the title “Just a Stitch Away” (original title of the campaign: “Coser y cantar”), thousands of people can support the upcoming World Youth Day by preparing sacred linens and liturgical vestments for World Youth Day (purificators, corporals, white and purple stoles, altar cloths, albs, etc.).

Since the initiative was announced this past Christmas, with a letter to convents, churches, and individuals throughout Spain, many people have joined in the “Just a Stitch Away” campaign. The first to join were the nuns of the Monastery of Santa María la Real in Zamora (Spain), who will make 100 albs. “For us, this is an opportunity to show the Lord our love. In addition, from behind the scenes of this event, with each stitch, we will offer up our prayers that World Youth Day will offer an abundance of spiritual fruits for Spain and for all the young people who will come from around the world,” said Sister Lucy, Prioress of the community.

There is also Ana Rodriguez, who has organized a group of her friends to make 50 hand towels, which the priest uses to dry his fingers after the washing of the hands in the Mass. “We meet every Monday for two hours to carry out this task and we are making progress fairly quickly, as many times we take the work home with us,” she explained. “And others are also encouraged to join in the work … when I went to buy the fabric, I told the manager that it was for World Youth Day and he gave me a good discount,” she commented.

The material prepared will be used in the ceremonies with the Pope and during the week of WYD. Once the event is over, all the sacred linens and vestments will be presented to the Holy Father as a gift for the younger churches and areas of recent evangelization throughout the world.