Youth Activities World Youth Day 2011
The 2011 World Youth Day (WYD) event took place from 16-22 August 2011 in Madrid, Spain.
From St Peter's and other local Catholic and Anglican parishes we had a group of 15 of us heading off to Spain on 11 August for this year's pilgrimage, including 7 from our own parish: Angela Bailey, Cleo Takaingofa, David Lennon, Ian Goodrich, Ruairi McKay and Sharon & Neil Peoples.
Days in the Diocese (11 – 15 August 2011) Our days in the diocese were spent in the Galicia region in North West Spain, where we stayed with families in the town of As Pontes, based around the parish of Santa Maria de Puentes. Check out Kieran’s blog for further reflections on the town itself. Our time there was action packed with little rest, as our hosts were very generous with the time that they spent organising events and visits for us to show us the local area and culture. The scenery is very green and similar to North Yorkshire with mountains, hills and moorland. Events were mainly organised by a local seminarian, Juan Pablo (Paulo), with the parish priest Pepe and deacon Javier also showing us some of the local area. The local parishioners and the families we were staying with were also very welcoming, with meals being particularly generous - meatballs, tuna pastries and Spanish omelettes of potato and egg being some of the local dishes! Our first full day was a relaxed affair with visits to the highest cliffs in Europe at Punta do Limo on the northern coast, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Cantabrian Sea. This was followed by lunch and an afternoon on the beach, with some choosing a refreshing swim in the sea and others a stroll along the sands in quiet reflection.
On Saturday we made our pilgrimage to Santiago, starting with a welcoming music festival with various nationalities present, with people also providing testimony on their faith. Although much of this was in Spanish, the overall atmosphere of joy and celebration of being together as one body in Christ was not lost on anyone! From there we walked into Santiago itself where we gathered for a Mass in the Cathedral, a moving and solemn occasion. At the end of the Mass, the Botafumeiro – a giant incense burner which swings as a pendulum up to the underside of the roof - was brought into action – quite spectacular! Our final full day on Sunday brought rain, and started with a mass at the parish church in As Pontes, where we each gave a short testimony to the local parishioners as to what World Youth Day meant to us and a little about how we live our faith back at home in Leicester. This was followed by another fabulous buffet lunch and a visit to the local bee museum where we had hands on experience of making candles and sampled some of the local honey – hmmm..! The late afternoon and evening were spent in the town of El Ferrol on the coast, with time to relax in the local shopping centre playing pool and air hockey! Our evening concluded with a night prayer (that almost turned into a vigil!) at a local church, with other pilgrims from Argentina and Paraguay. Monday was an early start as we packed our bags and bid farewell to our hosts, travelling for an hour or so to the town of Mondoñedo for a ‘mass of sending’ before heading off for a 350 mile road trip to Madrid! Our time in north west Spain was a real opportunity to get to see some of the real local culture away from the main tourists spots, and we were all very grateful to our hosts and sad to leave them behind as we set off for Madrid. Luckily, we have Facebook to keep in touch! World Youth Day Celebrations in Madrid (16-21 August 2011) Late on the Monday evening (15th) we eventually arrived in Madrid at our home for the next seven days - the parish of Our Lady de Lluc. The first full day in Madrid (Tuesday) we made our way to the opening mass of World Youth Day in Madrid’s world famous Cibeles Square led by the Archbishop of Madrid. Despite there being a slight lack of room and a faulty sound system, which meant we couldn’t hear what was happening, it was still an enjoyable day! Wednesday kicked off with our first catechesis session were we made many new friends from various other English speaking countries including South Africa, Sri Lanka, USA, Canada, West Indies and one or two from a place called ‘old Blighty.’ The main themes for the catechesis was to encourage young people to find alternative motivation in life rather than greed and material wealth. Once the discussion was over there was a question and answer session which was then followed by Mass. The afternoon consisted of free time in which our group explored more of Madrid and it’s surrounding area including the famous football stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu! His holiness arrived in Madrid on Thursday 18th and despite a protest the previous night and a threatened underground strike this did not dampen our spirits or stop us from having a good time. The climax for our day was the Papal Welcome in Cibles Square and despite being a tiny bit squashed it didn’t stop us from giving the Holy Father a big friendly welcome! Friday dawned and following our final catechises there was the opportunity to view the fantastic display of the Stations of the Cross (or Via Cruces) spread out throughout Madrid, where the Pope would later lead the Stations of the Cross in the evening. An early rise on Saturday kick-started our walking pilgrimage to Cuatro Vientos aerodrome which was the setting for the Papal Vigil. At the vigil there was a great sense of belonging with all people from around the world. When his holiness arrived the atmosphere was electric and when the lighting storm arrived it seemed to be quite literally electric! Pope Benedict’s main message of the vigil was that young people can still aspire to their faith even in today’s society which again related back to the theme of this year’s WYD which is taken from St Paul’s letter to the Colossians: ‘Planted and built up in Jesus Christ. Firm in the faith.’ The night concluded with an awesome firework display which truly made it a night to remember! After a slightly uncomfortable sleep (on dead grass!) we woke to the sound of cheers and roars as Pope Benedict made his way around the aerodrome in the Popemobile. After a beautiful mass in the blistering Spanish heat was a moment we were all waiting for when Pope Benedict announced that the next World Youth Day would be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2013. After a long walk and train journey back to our accommodation (stopping for a group meal at a nice Italian restaurant on the way back) we managed to have some rest time before most of us headed to a football match which the WYD organisers had arranged for the final evening - Spain v The Rest of the World - with many well-known veteran players on show! Our final day on Monday was a chance to get in some last minute exploration of Madrid before making our farewells to the many people we had got to know over our weeklong pilgrimage. World Youth Day 2011 was a very moving and exciting experience not just for the Leicester Group but for all of the two million young people who went to Madrid and hopefully we all came back home firm in our faith and ready to help spread the Good News of the Gospel to all those we meet - by our deeds and actions - trying to live our lives by Christ’s teachings. Looking forward to the next one in Rio! (Thanks to Ruairi for putting together these reflections) So What is World Youth Day All About? Below are a couple of videos showing video clip highlights of previous World Youth Day's (26 Years of World Youth Days) and information on what it's all about (What's WYD All About?) Also, check out the WYD website for more info.
Fundraisers and Social Events To help us on our way we've had a few fundraisers and also social events as a group to get to know each other before we head off to Spain. Some of these are mentioned below: (A big thank you to everyone who has supported us in any way - it's much appreciated!!)
Retreat Day at Mount St Bernard Abbey On the first Saturday in May we met at Mount St Bernard Abbey where we reflected on Pope Benedict's words to young people during his recent visit to the UK and on how we can try to emulate Saints and the qualities of people who we admire. Fr Joseph at the Abbey, who joined us for our morning session, reflected on 2 people who, relatively recently, had passed from this life at a young age and have since been declared Blessed (Blessed Chiara) and a Saint (Saint Rafael) due to some of the extraordinary aspects of their lives.
However, they were also 2 very ordinary people, which reminds us that even if we think of ourselves as ordinary and may not consider we are special in any particular way, we are still called to be the best people that we can possibly be, and, by our deeds and actions, have the courage to spread the Good News that Jesus preaches in the Bible Gospels:
What We'll Be Doing in Spain When the group was formed we decided to go for a basic package of transport and accommodation whilst in Madrid and from our early meetings came up with a provisional Brief Itinerary. Our current plans can be found in our Final Itinerary. For the initial part of the pilgrimage we will be visiting the region of Santiago de Compostela in North West Spain. This part of the event is called 'Days in the Diocese' (DiD) where we will be staying with families and have the chance to soak up some of the local culture and should also be able to get involved with social projects. After a few days we will travel to Madrid for the main WYD events which will include catechesis sessions led by Bishops, where we will be able to reflect on how we as young people can try and live out the Gospel teaching in our daily lives. There will be a few events in Madrid where all the world's pilgrims will be together at the same time (about 2 million are expected to attend); the opening Mass in mid week, and then the Prayer Vigil on the Saturday evening where we sleep out under the stars at the Cuatro Vientos aerodrome! The following morning will be the final Mass where we’ll also find out where the next WYD will be in a few years’ time! Contact The Group You can contact group leaders Fr Martin Hardy, Angela Bailey or Ian Goodrich by email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Also, check out the World Youth Day Website at en.madrid11.com for further info on all the events that will be taking place. |
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