A YOUNG Chorley graduate has been invited to Rome -- by the Pope!

Simon Gore, 21, of Eaves Lane, Chorley is one of 40 young people from the Archdiocese of Liverpool who have set off for Italy this week.

Excited Simon -- who has never been to Rome before -- said: "I have always wanted to go there, and I am hoping it will be an experience I won't forget.

"I have only just finished studying English at university.

"To be honest, I just don't know what to expect."

The group will spend their first few days meeting Italian youngsters in Alba, in northern Italy, before travelling to Rome for the opening celebrations led by the Pope in St Peter's Square, and then at the Basilica of St John Lateran.

Pope John Paul II has invited young people from across the world to Rome for a week of millennium celebrations, leading up to World Youth Day on Sunday, August 20.

The trip is partly being subsidised by Liverpool Archdiocese and the North West group will be joined in Rome by the Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Reverend Vincent Malone.

He said: "Pope John Paul has given a reflection for World Youth Day 2000 which says, 'Young people of every continent do not be afraid to be the saints of the new millennium, be active members of your Church and be builders of peace,' and it is very much in that spirit that we will be travelling, remembering and celebrating 2000 years of Christianity, and looking with hope to the future."