WORLD YOUTH DAY
the Southern Cross, August 31 to September 6, 2011
of WYD pilgrims were 44 Cubans. “The Church made it easy for us to travel,” said pilgrim Rafael Bertot, who works as a driver for a Cuban bishop. “The Church paid for our travels because we are too poor.”
Pope almost wept Pope Benedict was “so emotional, he almost wept” during some of the key moments of World Youth Day, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco of Madrid told the broadcasting station of the Spanish Episcopal Conference. He said that one of the moments of the youth gathering that most moved the pope was the Via Crucis, or Stations of the Cross, in which a reported 1,5 million people took part.
The press turns Vatican Radio reporter Emer McCarthy noticed a change in mood in the Spanish press during WYD, “which passed from front page reporting on the protests that had erupted on the eve of the papal trip to the pope’s call for ethics in political and social spheres to help overcome the [economic] crisis”.
Cultural events While destinations such as the confession booths at Retiro Park, the Vocations Fair and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament were hugely popular, Madrid also offered a cultural programme which included guided tours of the Prado Museum and other art museums of art as well as historical exhibitions in churches. In Fuencarral, Madrid’s “Avenue of the movies”, several films of a Christian content were shown.
Grateful pope Priests hear confessions in some of the of the 200 tempo- A woman rebukes a crying pilgrim during a demonstration rary open-air confessionals in Parque del Retiro. (Photo: against Pope Benedict’s visit to Madrid. (Photo: Susana Paul haring, CNS) Vera, Reuters/CNS)
Entrance debacle
Some 250 000 pilgrims were denied access to the closing Mass, despite having paid for seating. “1,4 million people showed up and [the organisers] were never really equipped to handle more than one million,” said Christian Elia, director of the US Office of Catholic Youth. “It’s very disappointing,” said Mr Elia. “In terms of execution, people have been suspecting for many months now...that there were some serious problems from an organisational standpoint.”
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Pope Benedict said he was leaving Madrid filled with gratitude to the Spanish people, the World Youth Day organisers and volunteers, and the million-plus pilgrims who prayed with him. “Spain is a great nation whose soundly open, pluralistic and respectful society is capable of moving forward without surrendering its profoundly religious and Catholic soul,” the pope told King Juan Carlos before boarding a plane to return to Rome. The pope said WYD proved that young people will respond happily and massively “when one proposes to them, in sincerity and truth, an encounter with Jesus Christ”.
WYD a cash cow Pilgrims are sprayed with water before the start of the Pope Benedict meets young people for lunch. it was a Fri- Way of the Cross. Pilgrims were trying to cope with temday, so fish was served. (Photo: L’osservatore Romano) peratures of around 37°C. (Photo: Paul haring, CNS)
Out of Communion
Obscene protests
Most pilgrims did not receive Communion during the closing Mass, and were asked to offer it up as a sacrifice for the pope. The plan was to distribute Communion from 17 eucharistic chapels set up on the perimeter of the airfield, but a storm during the vigil destroyed several of the chapel-tents, and police asked organisers to dismantle most of the others because they posed a danger in the wind.
Papal lunch
At various times throughout WYD, protesters confronted young Catholics from around the world, some using obscenities. Reactions to the protests were mixed. Some pilgrims countered the demonstrations with chants of their own; others prayed. “I just cannot understand that they [Spaniards] brought the Christian faith to the Philippines, but there are now so many anti-Catholic Spanish people. What happened?” asked delegate Filipino Jan Dell Posion.
Pope Benedict lunched with 12 young people representing all continents (the menu was soup, fish and ice cream). Ten of the diners were chosen by lot from among the international volunteers who helped prepare World Youth Day. No one guided the conversation, said US representative Michelle Hatfield, 22. “It just came naturally. It’s like eating dinner with your family: You all listen, you all talk, but there’s no set structure.”
The Vatican expected the occasional protests against WYD and Pope Benedict’s visit to Spain. Against a few thousand protesters, “there are hundreds of thousands of young people...happy to welcome the pope,” said Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ. “It seems to me that before every papal trip there are demonstrations by people who have a different opinion and
Protests ‘normal’
use the occasion to express their problems or concerns. It’s part of life in a democratic country.”
Gifts of culture Greeting Pope Benedict on his arrival in Madrid, young representatives gave him a gift that represented a formal cultural welcome: salt and bread from a young Polish woman; a flower garland from a Japanese woman; a bowl of rice from a South Korean; a sombrero from a Honduran; and coffee beans in a banana leaf from a young man from Australia.
Ramadan at WYD A Muslim Filipino who joined this year’s World Youth Day in Spain is encouraging fellow Muslims to go through the same experience he had. Yussef Paglas, 17, said he “meaningfully" fulfilled his Muslim traditions during WYD. “I was still able to practise Ramadan because of the long walking that we endured. And despite the
busy schedule, I still pray and bring the Qu’ran with me always,” he said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines news site.
A spiritual GPS Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga recommended a “spiritual GPS” for young people during a catechesis session. It should be tuned to the Word of God, the Bread of Life, and the Virgin Mary. “If the point of reference is no longer God, society is disoriented,” he said. “And it is striking that a world such as the present one—which has such advanced technology for orientation as the GPS—is disoriented.”
Cuban fidelity Among the hundreds of thousands
Hotels, transportation services and businesses in Madrid took in nearly 160 million (R1,7 billion) during World Youth Day, according to Arturo Fernandez, the president of Madrid’s House of Commerce. Some three million meal tickets were distributed to young people throughout the week, valued at nearly 22,5 million (R234 million).
See you in Rio 2013 The secret of the next World Youth Day host city had been out already since July. Still Brazilians in Madrid and young people gathered in a public viewing area in Rio de Janeiro cheered when Pope Benedict announced that the next WYD will be held in Rio in 2013. The Vatican decided not to wait three years for the next international gathering because in 2014 Brazil is scheduled to host the football World Cup and will have its hands full.