Those of us who participated in World Youth Day 2008 – including nearly 200 pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Miami – experienced the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in and through the youths of our church on a global scale.
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, upon seeing the vast assembly of nearly 200,000 pilgrim youths from around the world, including the mostly young dioceses of Australia and New Zealand, described it quite well: “… all of us have had an unforgettable experience of the Spirit’s presence and power in the beauty of nature. Our eyes have been opened to see the world around us as it truly is: ‘charged,’ as the poet says, ‘with the grandeur of God.’”
Our communications media covered this event very effectively. Upon returning to Miami, as I tried to share my experiences with others, I was surprised by the fact that all of them already knew what I was talking about –sometimes even better than I did – thanks to the “blogs,” the generosity of EWTN in covering the events live and the reporting in other media. Read the full article here.
August 9, 2008 | Return To Top
Courtesy Photo | Bryan Garcia
Alan, a member of the Miami archdiocesan delegation, proudly holds up a Cuban flag while aboard a ferry in the Sydney Harbor.
Nearly 200 youths and young adults from south Florida took part in World Youth Day 2008.
MIAMI | They saw kangaroos, learned “Aussi slang,” tasted vegemite sandwiches, taught “salsa” dancing to the natives and hung out with the pope — sort of.
Most of all, the Archdiocese of Miami’s 200–strong contingent of young people (and their older chaperones) experienced God’s love in the universal embrace of thousands of young Catholics who brought their faith, hope and enthusiasm to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008.
“I can honestly say that I have had an amazing experience which was an excellent time of spiritual growth,” wrote Bryan Garcia, 19, in his last blog for the archdiocesan Web site, posted July 21, the day after the final Mass with Pope Benedict XVI. Read the full article here.
July 26, 2008 | Return To Top
ORLANDO | World Youth Day 2008 will always be a meaningful memory for Anders C. Bergmann of St. George Parish at Patrick Air Force Base in Cape Canaveral and Katherine Schinn, a parishioner at Queen of Peace Parish in Ocala. It will be inextricably linked to their engagement of marriage.
The couple, both 21, traveled in a group of 12 from the Air Force base, which included Bergmann’s younger brother Colin and his parents, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Anders P. Bergmann and Linda E. Bergmann, as chaperones.
Anders C. Bergmann arranged the details of the proposal from home. He purchased the ring, searched online for the perfect event and even got train schedules to the location to ensure they wouldn’t miss it. Read the full article here.
July 24, 2008 | Return To Top
Posted: 07.22.08
CNS| MARK BAKER, POOL
Msgr. Jude Okolo Thaddeus of Australia bids Pope Benedict XVI farewell at a ceremony at Sydney airport in Australia July 21.
SYDNEY | Pope Benedict XVI visited with clergy sexual abuse victims, thanked 8,000 World Youth Day volunteers and attended a special farewell ceremony at Sydney International Airport before departing Australia for Rome July 21.
First thing in the morning, the pope attended a private meeting with a small group of Australians who have been victims of sexual abuse by some clergy. The Professional Standards Office of New South Wales nominated four victims to meet the Holy Father after a private Mass with him.
“The Holy Father’s meeting this morning further reinforces the church’s commitment to bringing healing and justice to those who have been so terribly hurt by sexual abuse.” said Cardinal George Pell of Sydney. Read the full article here.
July 21, 2008 | Return To Top
Posted: 07.21.08
CNS | Courtesy of World Youth Day 2008
An aerial view shows Pope Benedict XVI arriving by popemobile at Royal Randwick Racecourse for the final Mass of World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia, July 20.
SYDNEY | After a weeklong celebration throughout Sydney, World Youth Day organizers said they were thrilled with a July 20 final Mass attendance nearing half a million people at Randwick Racecourse.
“It was an extraordinary sight to see more than 400,000 people gather for Mass on a gray Sunday,” said Danny Casey, chief operating officer for World Youth Day in Sydney. “This is certainly the largest Catholic Mass ever celebrated in our country.”
Pilgrims from Florida who are reporting on their experience for the Florida Catholic had difficulty finding words that fully captured the feeling of being in the congregation. Archdiocese of Miami pilgrims Janelle Garcia and Susy Gomez, who are reporting as a team, called it “inspiring.”
“Awesome” was the word chosen by Diocese of Palm Beach pilgrim Cara Catalfumo. “I have never been to Mass with that many people,” she said. Read the full article here.
July 20, 2008 | Return To Top
Posted: 07.21.08
SYDNEY | As more than 200,000 pilgrims made their way on foot July 19 from North Sydney to Randwick Racecourse a few miles away for a day of bonding, a candlelight vigil with Pope Benedict XVI, a campout and, in the morning, the final Mass of World Youth Day, the Holy Father did some bonding of his own — with seminarians and young religious people, then with Australia’s bishops.
“Dear young seminarians and religious, you yourselves will become living altars, where Christ’s sacrificial love is made present as an inspiration and a source of spiritual nourishment to everyone you meet,” Pope Benedict told the seminarians and young sisters and brothers during a morning special service to dedicate a new altar at St. Mary’s Cathedral.
The pope departed from his official homily to deliver an apology to the victims of sexual abuse by clergy in Australia. “Indeed, I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured, and I assure them that as their pastor, I too share in their suffering,” he said.Read the full article here.
July 19, 2008 | Return To Top
CNS | L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
World Youth Day pilgrims join Pope Benedict XVI and Sydney Cardinal George Pell for lunch at St. Mary’s Cathedral rectory July 18 in Sydney, Australia.
SYDNEY | The pilgrim chosen to represent North America at Pope Benedict’s July 19 World Youth Day luncheon with a dozen young adults from around the world brought a gift familiar to Floridians — a mouse–eared cap personalized with the pontiff’s name.
But neither the pilgrim nor the hat came to Sydney from the vicinity of Walt Disney World. Catholic News Service reported that Armando Cervantes, a 27–year–old director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Orange, Calif., presented the pope with a classic from the top tourist attraction in his diocese — Disneyland. It was inscribed “Benedict XVI.” Read the full article here.
July 18, 2008 | Return To Top
SYDNEY | The 12 young adults who shared lunch July 18 with Pope Benedict XVI also shared with him stories about their lives and their countries.
And they brought him gifts, including handicrafts from their home countries and three CDs of classical music.
Armando Cervantes, the 27–year–old director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Orange, Calif., presented the pope with a classic from the top tourist destination in his diocese –– Disneyland.
The Mickey Mouse hat, featuring the famous character’s big ears, was inscribed “Benedict XVI,” Cervantes said, adding that the pope did not try it on, but he was smiling.
Cervantes also gave the pope a copy of the U.S. bishops’ Book of Blessings, photos from the pope’s April trip to the United States, a California Angels baseball and a little “stress ball.” Read the full article here.
July 18, 2008 | Return To Top
Pope’s routes through city down under are designed for maximum visibility.
CNS | ALESSIA GIULIANI, CATHOLIC PRESS PHOTO
Pope Benedict XVI admires the view as he makes his way by boat through Sydney Harbor July 17 in Sydney, Australia.
SYDNEY | Tens of thousands of people, including pilgrims and local residents, lined Sydney’s foreshore to catch a glimpse of Pope Benedict XVI as the papal boat–a–cade made its way from its origin in Rose Bay around to Barangaroo, where he made his first official World Youth Day appearance.
Traveling on board the Sydney 2000, the pope was accompanied by 530 people, including 60 Australian cardinals and bishops, the papal entourage, 10 indigenous representatives, 160 international pilgrims and 20 young Australians in the cruise around the harbor. Read the full article here.
July 17, 2008 | Return To Top
CNS | POOL REUTERS
Aboriginal dancers welcome Pope Benedict XVI to Australia during a ceremony at Rose Bay in Sydney, Australia, July 17.
SYDNEY | To the haunting drone of didgeridoo, Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival at Rose Bay began with a “sweeping dance” performed by three young Australian Aborigines.
The clearing of debris from the ground ahead of the pope symbolized “purification and new beginnings,” said one of the dancers, Matt Shields, 23, a Kamilaroi from western New South Wales. The dance was one of several events highlighting Australia’s indigenous peoples July 17, the pope’s first day of participating in World Youth Day events. Read the full article here.
July 17, 2008 | Return To Top
Volunteer Edith Gonzalez serves food to World Youth Day pilgrims at Blessed John XXIII Parish in Stanhope Gardens, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, July 16. Rotary club and parish volunteers were serving some 220,000 sausages plus toppings to hungry youths attending catechesis across greater Sydney.
CNS | PAUL HARING
SYDNEY | World Youth Day pilgrims got their “daily bread” — figuratively and literally —July 16, as they feasted on the word of God during the first catechesis sessions of the global gathering and dined at more than 200 WYD Big Aussie BBQ venues.
More than 220,000 slices of bread — enough to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge 21 times if laid end to end — were topped with sausages and tomato sauce and served to hungry pilgrims around Sydney.
For catechesis, pilgrims broke into groups by language and nationality and reported to assigned sites for speeches, praise and worship music and Mass, all focused on the theme “calling to live in the Holy Spirit.” Read the full article here.
July 16, 2008 | Return To Top
Amid the freebies, young people gravitate toward booths of religious at vocations fair.
Two members of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal walk at the water’s edge on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, July 16. They were among the tens of thousands of pilgrims that flocked to Sydney for World Youth Day, the Catholic Church’s largest youth festival.
CNS | TIM WIMBORNE, REUTERS
SYDNEY (CNS) | Free Internet access, free coffee, free lollipops and live music were offered at the World Youth Day vocations fair, but the young people seemed most attracted by the generally young brothers, sisters and priests staffing the booths.
A huge hall in the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre was filled with nearly 100 booths offering information about dozens of religious orders, priestly service in Australian or U.S. dioceses, lay movements, evangelization projects and natural family planning.
Young people lined up for Internet access and coffee, but they also crowded around each booth, picking up information and stepping aside for serious conversations with the religious and priests. Read the full article here.
July 16, 2008 | Return To Top
Archbishop Fitzgerald explains the role of the Holy Spirit in contemporary life of young Catholics during a catechetical session.
CNS | PAUL HARING
U.S. pilgrim Alex Lugar, 16, of Wexford, Pa., attends a World Youth Day catechesis session July 16 at Blessed John XXIII Parish in Stanhope Gardens, a suburb of Sydney, Australia.
SYDNEY | The Vatican’s ambassador to Egypt told World Youth Day pilgrims that the Holy Spirit will guide them in their relationship with God and stick with them when they leave the international youth festival.
Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald told New Zealand and Pakistani youths gathered in St. Aloysius Gonzaga Church in southern Sydney July 16 that the Holy Spirit “confirms the Christian’s special relationship with God.”
“It is the Spirit that helps us to relate to the Father and Son, and it is the Spirit that allows us to pray,” said the archbishop during the talk, part of the July 15–20 World Youth Day activities in Sydney.
He added that if pilgrims hungered to experience the Holy Spirit in their lives “ask the Spirit for words.” MORE
July 16, 2008 | Return To Top
Pope Benedict signals start of WYD with personal text message to pilgrims.
CARA CATAFULMO | FC
Alicia Catalfumo gets a boost from fellow pilgrims from the Diocese of Palm Beach as she takes a photograph at the World Youth Day opening Mass celebrated by Cardinal George Pell July 15 at Barangaroo.
SYDNEY | There were two big signs July 15 that World Youth Day 2008 had officially begun. An estimated 150,000 pilgrims poured through the streets of Sydney to the waterfront district known as Barangaroo for the opening Mass. And Pope Benedict XVI sent this personal text message to pilgrims: “Young friend, God & his people expect much from u, because u have within u the Father’s supreme gift: the Spirit of Jesus – BXVI.”
Cardinal George Pell of Sydney celebrated the opening Mass in the sunset with the city’s harbor as a backdrop. Many in the congregation expressed awe.
“Mass was spectacular and gave me chills,” 21–year–old Aracelys Bonachea of San Lazaro Parish in Hialeah told a Florida Catholic pilgrim journalist. Read the full article here.
July 16, 2008 | Return To Top
CNS | DANIEL MUNOZ, REUTERS
With crosier in hand, Cardinal George Pell processes onto the main stage for the opening Mass.
SYDNEY (CNS) | World Youth Day officially kicked off July 15 with an opening Mass celebrated by Sydney Cardinal George Pell before an estimated 140,000 people.
Before the Mass, as the pilgrims gathered on the old docklands at Barangaroo, they heard testimonies of faith experiences at previous World Youth Days, watched dancing by a variety of Aboriginal Australian and South Pacific islander groups and cheered a procession of 160 national flags.
While the official welcoming dances were taking place onstage, a group of six young men from Papua New Guinea offered their own choreographed blessing to the four directions of the compass from the place they found to stand in front of the estimated 4,000 concelebrating priests. Read the full article here.
July 15, 2008 | Return To Top
This is Georgette reporting by BlackBerry from Los Angeles International Airport July 9. Our group, nine youths and three adults, just completed the Divine Mercy chaplet in the boarding area and are about to get on a plane for our 15-hour flight crossing the International Dateline into tomorrow.
We are a group of 12 pilgrims: seven high school seniors, two college students and three chaperones from St. George Parish at Patrick Air Force Base. We were commissioned and dispatched from our community at the 8:30 a.m. Mass Sunday, July 6. We departed Melbourne in the United States July 9 to arrive in Melbourne, Australia, July 11 and will be on pilgrimage to attend World Youth Day until we return home July 24. Read the full article here.
July 13, 2008 | Return To Top
MELBOURNE | More than a year of planning and fundraising – $39,000 – enabled nine youths and three chaperones from Patrick Air Force base to attend World Youth Day in Australia.
“We raised all but $1,200 per person. The whole parish has been very supportive helping our teens get to their goal,” said Georgette Hoppenbrouwer, youth minister at St. George Parish, Patrick Air Force Base. “There wasn’t a week that passed that someone didn’t come up to me at Mass and ask how it was going.”
On Veteran’s Day 2007, the teens put on a pancake breakfast at Satellite Beach Civic Center, getting the city’s support. “Since we are a small parish, we took our fundraising effort to the streets,” Hoppenbrouwer said.
Rummage sales, silent auctions and a golf tournament followed. “This year we offered our parish ‘Rent-a-Teen.’ For four weekends, the teens did lots of yard work, cleaned garages and even painted the entire inside of a house,” Hoppenbrouwer added.
July 13, 2008 | Return To Top
JANET SHELTON | FC
Jerin Madhavappallil dries the windsheild as Michaela and Harry McCarthy work on the side of an automobile.
HOLIDAY | St. Vincent de Paul Parish isn’t the biggest parish in the diocese. It also doesn’t rank among the wealthiest – if one is looking solely at income.
Yet while other parishes struggle to send one or two teens to World Youth Day, this parish sent 17 young adults and two chaperones to Sydney. Through sweat and a giving parish, the parish’s teen pilgrims brought in more than $3,000 each so they could attend the July 15-20 spiritual gathering with Pope Benedict XVI.
St. Vincent de Paul parishioners had their cars washed a couple of Sundays a month. They paid for breakfasts and dinners prepared by the Knights of Columbus and served by World Youth Day pilgrims. They played golf in a tournament that raised about $1,500. They joined their neighbors at a garage sale and bought “shares” in specific pilgrims, a sort of mini-sponsorship program that showed their dedication to supporting the teens. Read the full article here.
July 10, 2008 | Return To Top
For some of the religious, their calling came at past World Youth Days.
CNS | DAN MCALOON
Religious vocations for Sister Mary Margaret, left, of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist and Christine Marie, right, a novice of the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ began at past World Youth Days.
SYDNEY | The gathering of American sisters in Sydney’s Hyde Park was a harbinger of things to come as Australia’s largest city began to transform under the influx of hundreds of thousands of World Youth Day pilgrims.
The 35 women religious representing a dozen U.S. congregations are World Youth Day pilgrims and volunteers, acting in various evangelical and liturgical roles. Many will serve as extraordinary ministers of Communion at Pope Benedict XVI’s closing Mass, where more than 500,000 worshippers are expected to attend. Read the full article here.
July 10, 2008 | Return To Top
CNS | ALESSANDRO BIANCHI, REUTERS
Pope Benedict XVI gestures during his Angelus prayer from his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 6.
CASTEL GANDOLFO | Pope Benedict XVI asked Catholics around the world to pray for the young people who will gather with him in Sydney, Australia, for the celebration of World Youth Day.
To help encourage the prayers of all, the Vatican announced July 5 that the pope had authorized a special indulgence for anyone who, “with a contrite spirit,” raises a “prayer to God, the Holy Spirit, so that young people are drawn to charity and given the strength to proclaim the Gospel with their life,” a Vatican decree said.
Pope Benedict spoke about his July 12–21 trip to Australia when he met visitors at his summer villa south of Rome for the July 6 recitation of the Angelus. World Youth Day runs July 15–20 in Sydney.
Australian young people, he said, had been preparing for the event with a prayerful pilgrimage of the World Youth Day cross, “a silent witness of the covenant pact between the Lord Jesus Christ and the new generations.” Read the full article here.
July 8, 2008 | Return To Top
An official for World Youth Day is “confident” the strike will be resolved in time.
SYDNEY, Australia | Sydney’s railroad workers have announced a 24–hour strike for July 17, the day of Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival in Sydney for World Youth Day.
But Jim Hanna, media director for World Youth Day, said July 7 that organizers remained “confident that the parties will resolve their differences through arbitration,” and the papal tour through the streets of Sydney “will continue peacefully and uninterrupted.” Read the full article here.
July 8, 2008 | Return To Top
The remains of the exemplar for students and youth will be at St. Mary’s Cathedral during World Youth Day.
CNS | DANIEL MUNOZ, REUTERS
Catholics pray in front of the coffin of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati at St. Benedict’s Church in Sydney, Australia, July 2. His body will remain at the church until July 10, when it will be moved to St. Mary’s Cathedral and become a focal point of the World Youth Day 2008 pilgrimage to the historic landmark.
SYDNEY, Australia | The body of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati arrived in Sydney for World Youth Day 2008, marking the first time it has left Turin, Italy, since his 1925 death.
The charismatic Blessed Pier Giorgio is revered for his social activism, sports–loving way, sense of humor and generous spirit.
“Pier Giorgio loved sport, horse riding, mountain climbing and practical jokes,” Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher, World Youth Day coordinator, told parishioners at St. Benedict Church in Sydney, where the body, enclosed in a zinc–lined coffin, was received July 2. Read the full article here.
July 8, 2008 | Return To Top
