Youths Left $30,000 in Tor Vergata

Cleanup Committee Surprised that No One Stole the Money

ROME, AUGUST 25 (ZENIT.org).- Persons in charge of cleaning up the Tor Vergata field near Rome, where 2 million young people gathered last weekend for World Youth Day, have collected all kinds of items and documents that the pilgrims left behind, including $30,000 in a variety of foreign currencies, and numerous credit cards. Among the documents were driving licenses, passports, and a plane ticket to Chicago, which should have been used a few hours after the event closed. Five youths remained incommunicado, having left behind their mobile phones.

Priests were no less absent-minded, as the cleaners found several breviaries and five articles of liturgical clothing. The authorities will try to return items that are properly identified.

This is further proof of the integrity of the youths who participated in the mass meeting. In similar events, one often witnesses acts of vandalism or theft, especially in the closing hours. In Tor Vergata, however, money that was lost was found by the organizers.

Zenit - The World Seen From Rome