Mayan Stoles Will Accent Liturgy at World Youth Day

TORONTO, JULY 9, 2002 (Zenit.org).- More than 1,000 priests concelebrating with the Pope at the closing Mass for World Youth Day will wear stoles made by Mexican Indian women.

The cooperative Women for Dignity, in the state of Chiapas, has made 1,500 stoles in the colorful Mayan style. The organizers said the "stoles will be kept by the priests, or used by Toronto priests, as a link with the Church in Mexico."

The U.S.-based Knights of Columbus helped compensate the Mayan women for producing the liturgical vestments, which are long narrow strips of cloth worn around the neck by clergy.

Women for Dignity was founded in 1997 by more than 800 ethnic groups with common roots in Mayan culture. Sales from their articles help generate income in Chiapas, one of the country's poorest states.

The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace supports the group's work and proposed this cooperative for World Youth Day.

ZENIT - The World Seen from Rome
9. juli 2002