Sydney's bishops have asked parish priests to reschedule morning masses on Sunday 20 July to enable their parishioners to attend the historic World Youth Day 2008 (WYD08) Final Mass with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.

The request was made in a letter signed by the senior clerics of all four Catholic dioceses in metropolitan Sydney.

"Our strong preference (and very likely the will of many parishioners) is for as many priests and parishioners as possible to attend (and in the case of priests, to concelebrate) the Final Mass with the Holy Father," the letter says.

"For this reason, instead of your regular Sunday morning Masses, we ask you to consider scheduling additional Masses on the evenings of Saturday 19 July and Sunday 20 July for those who prefer to attend Mass in the parish, and otherwise encourage all your parishioners to attend the Final Mass with the Holy Father."

The letter was signed by the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell; the Bishop of Parramatta, Kevin Manning; the Bishop of Broken Bay, David Walker; and Bishop Peter Ingham of Wollongong, whose diocese includes Sydney's southern suburbs.

WYD08 is an historic occasion for Australia, marking the first visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Australia.

It will also be the largest event hosted in Australia, drawing 125,000 overseas visitors for six days of religious and cultural celebrations, from 15 to 20 July.

The event will culminate with the Final Mass at Randwick Racecourse and Centennial Park, where up to 500,000 people are expected to gather.

WYD08 is an invitation from the Pope to the youth of the world. It is hosted by the Catholic Church, but open to all.

Only 149 days to go to WYD08!