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| July 10, 2008
I'm at home in sunny California, where the temperature is lingering around 100F degrees, packing for World Youth Day. How strange it is to think about sweaters and jackets in the middle of summer! But in two days . . . . . . I'll be crossing into the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the middle of winter, and joining in the largest youth gathering in the world.
World Youth Day started in 1986, when Pope John Paul II announced Palm Sunday as the day for youth to gather in their dioceses every year. The Holy Father was encouraged by the enthusiastic responses of young people during the 1984 Youth Jubilee in Rome and the United Nations International Year of the Youth in 1985. World Youth Day was established as a day for young people to be addressed by the Pope and to reflect on his message. It is a celebration for the youth to be encouraged in their faith as the new generation of the Church.
Every two or three years, World Youth Day is celebrated on a global level, where young people from around the world gather in one host city. This year, the global World Youth Day will be taking place in Sydney, Australia, making Australia the fifth continent on which World Youth Day has been celebrated.
World Youth Day is the Sunday after a pilgrimage week of events, culminating with Mass celebrated by the Holy Father. Events of the week include Mass and catecheses (in many different languages), times of prayer, Rosary, Adoration, Praise & Worship, festivals, and social events. Confession is almost always available. There are also great opportunities to learn about different ministries, missions, and religious orders from around the world. This year's World Youth Day theme is: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8). It promises to be an inspiring and challenging theme for our catechesis and prayer.
My first World Youth Day pilgrimage was in Cologne, Germany in 2005-- it was a thrilling experience! To be with so many other people from around the world (around 1.2 million, actually) who share my faith and to celebrate that faith together with the Vicar of Christ was such a blessing! Granted, pilgrimages do come with some suffering, stretching, and growth (being in a foreign country and sharing space with a million people isn't easy), but that's all part of the experience! The Lord has continually blessed these gatherings of His beloved youth.
I was also blessed to be at Mass with Pope Benedict at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome this Palm Sunday, the Twenty-third diocesan World Youth Day. You can read his homily from that day here.
So, I'm getting ready to head 'Down Under'. I'll be meeting up with 149 of the other pilgrims in my group in Los Angeles this Saturday before we fly over the Pacific to join an estimated 500,000 World Youth Day participants. Please pray for us and for all those who will be working and witnessing World Youth Day!
For official information on World Youth Day events, history, and other fun stuff, check out:
www.wyd2008.org
~Katherine Thomas
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