YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (CNS) – More than 2,000 young people from 21 Asian countries arrived in Indonesia to celebrate Asian Youth Day, which kicked off with the preliminary three-day live-in program beginning July 30. Modeled on World Youth Day’s Days in the Dioceses, the live-in program allows young participants to stay with local Catholic families in 11 archdioceses and dioceses ahead of the main Aug. 2-6 festivities, reported ucanews.com.

“We gather here because we believe in Jesus Christ. We are joyful to bring his teachings to a multicultural group of people,” Bishop Paskalis Syukur of Bogor said in his homily during Mass at the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral in Bogor. “We celebrate our diversity in Christ who unites us.”