Ever received a text message from the Pope? Well, very soon thousands of young Catholics in Australia can say they did, as the Sydney Catholic Church push off to celebrate the World Youth Day (WYD) with a techno twist.

Pope Benedict, in a bid to strum a chord with the younger audience, chooses to go techno as he will text message thousands of people on their mobile phones this World Youth Day, with the celebrations kicking off on July 15.

The Pope will text daily messages of inspiration and hope during the six-day Sydney event while digital prayer walls will be set up at event sites and the church will open a Catholic Social networking Web site similar to a Catholic Facebook, reports Reuters.

Speaking on the Pope’s digital way of connecting to youth, Bishop Anthony Fisher said that the intention behind it was to make WYD08 a distinct experience by exploring new ways of connecting with today''s “tech-savvy youth”.

Australian telecom firm Telstra Corp will provide service to enable Pope Benedict to text message young Catholics during World Youth Day in Sydney in July, as well as erect digital prayer walls at event sites.

The Catholic Church anticipates receiving 225,000 young Catholics participating in the World Youth Day celebrations, this year.