KEY POINTS:
It's not the Olympic torch, but for young Catholics the Cross has the same significance.
The 4m-high wooden Cross, a gift from the late Pope John Paul II to the youth of the world in 1984, has travelled through Asia, Europe, America and even Ground Zero - the site of 9/11 - as part of the build-up to next year's World Youth Day in Sydney.
Tomorrow the Cross, accompanied by an icon of the Virgin Mary, will arrive in Dunedin from Vanuatu and journey north to Auckland on June 27.
Several thousand young New Zealand Catholics are expected among the 600,000 youths attending the July 2008 celebrations in Sydney, which will be presided over by Pope Benedict XVI.
The event began in Rome in 1986, and the last World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, attracted 1.2 million people.
Next year's event will be the biggest in Sydney since the Olympic Games.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard will meet the Cross at Sydney airport before it starts its trip around Australia on July 1.
Chris Duthie-Jung, head of the national committee, said the journey of the Cross would build knowledge of World Youth Day, particularly when people learned it was given by Pope John Paul and saw it for themselves.
"I think it's absolutely fantastic. It's like the torch to the Olympics, making the build-up tangible."
Mr Duthie-Jung said he had seen the Cross' package, which had been decorated with prayers and notes from all over the world.
"It's very exciting. Having seen it now makes a big difference."
The celebrations are not limited to Catholics. Lyndsay Freer, from Catholic Communications, said people from other denominations were invited, and some services would be interfaith.
After the Cross and icon arrive in Dunedin tomorrow, they will first go to Aramoana, site of the 1990 massacre.
World Youth Day 2008
* A celebration for young Catholics started by Pope John Paul II in 1986.
* More than 600,000 pilgrims aged 16-35 are expected to attend the event in Sydney in July 2008.
* Australian federal and state governments have spent $40 million preparing for it.
