As part of the celebrations of World Youth Day (WYD), which will be held in the cities of Lisbon and Fátima from Tuesday 1 to Sunday 6 August, the Guardia Civil will be part of the police deployment in the security device organised by the Portuguese National Republican Guard in the town of Fátima.
The participation of the Guardia Civil is on the occasion of the arrival of Pope Francis at the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Fatima to preside over the religious acts scheduled during the week of WYD. According to the Portuguese authorities, the confirmed presence of the Pope at WYD will involve the participation of more than 1,500,000 pilgrims, and the presence of Spanish pilgrims is expected to be one of the largest in WYD events.
The participation of the Guardia Civil in WYD, which will be held in the neighbouring country, is the result of the police cooperation relationship with the National Republican Guard and which will be reflected in the security device organised by the host country.
In this device, the Guardia Civil will participate with mixed Patrols, Cavalry Group, Drone-antidrone Teams, TEDAX and Subsoil Teams, PEGASO Teams and the Mobile Pilgrim Assistance Office in the Sanctuary of Fátima.
It should be noted that due to the good reception that the Pilgrim Assistance Office has in the service it provides among pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago, the Portuguese authorities have wanted to have said Office.
On the other hand, the physical location of the Portuguese cities chosen for WYD gives Spain a crucial role as it is a country of transit by land, and at the same time of arrival by air, for thousands of European and international pilgrims, mainly from South America.
Therefore, it is considered that this collaboration is important to guarantee road safety and traffic control, as well as guidance, if necessary, on vehicle traffic on the main roads used by international participants entering or leaving our territory.
In this sense, the Guardia Civil is offering its support to the Portuguese authorities for the preparation and movement of vehicles, trains and buses of organised groups of people who go from Spain to Lisbon and Fátima to participate in religious events.
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