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19th July 2018
01:25pm BST

In addition to that mouth-watering bill, music lovers can also look forward to an orchestra in excess of 50 musicians along with over 700 contemporary dancers, including 500 from Irish dance schools across the country, a 1,000 strong choir, 100 community groups, and 300 flag-bearers.
More acts will be announced closer to the event.
The selection of themes and artists featured in the event reflect many of the priorities in the ministry of Pope Francis including homelessness and those on the margins; migrants and refugees; care for our common home and the importance of the family.
Pope Francis will deliver an address to the families in the stadium and will hear five family testimonies.
The testimonies will be shared by families from Ireland, Canada, India, Iraq and Africa.
The themes of the family testimonies will focus on: forgiveness in family; strength in family; hope in family life; the intergenerational nature of families today and the impact of technology on family life. Pope Francis will meet each of these families and hear their stories.
Speaking at today’s launch in Croke Park, the President and Host of WMOF2018, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said:
“One of the great attractions of Pope Francis is how he himself shows how the role of Pope can be unique in bringing the Christian message into our complex world.
"He shows us that he can live in a world where faith seems marginal and yet manages to touch hearts. He finds ways in which he can win hearts for what the teaching of Jesus involves, not through imposing and judging, but through winning and attracting. That is his real talent.”
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