WORLD YOUTH DAY FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE
Ellice, Anna and Rebekah are pictured, bottom right, with WYD friends.
Our World Youth Day Experiences
"Alive. That’s the first word that comes to mind when I try picturing the event. It was extremely and utterly alive. The vibe was fantastic, the atmosphere was contagious and the mood was unthinkable. This is coming from a 14-year-old girl, I’ve grown up in a Catholic family, but am not so sure of my faith myself. Is God real? That question was confirmed to me during the week of World Youth Day in Krakow. Otherwise why would 3 million young people from 187 countries across the globe all join together in a potentially dangerous place, considering all the frightful events that are occurring nowadays. We had mass regularly and catechises daily, there were many testimonies and people talking about their faith. As a whole, the experience was amazing, everybody was so friendly! Despite the smiles and laughter, the week wasn’t easy; there was rain, a lot of walking and mass in many different languages- some of which were difficult to decipher. In 2 days we hiked 25k and got lost in colossal crowds several times. However, I would recommend WYD to absolutely anyone." Ellice Shields (14)
"In the course of my summer holidays I went to an event called World Youth Day where many people all across the world gathered together to celebrate Jesus and see Pope Francis. In total 187 countries were represented! It was an amazing experience doing the vigil, 1.6 million people slept on a field with no tents, just sleeping bags. Masses were cheerful and the music was incredible. Every now and then someone would ask you to trade a bracelet. Now I have bracelets from Canada, Poland, Australia and California. The pilgrim walk to the park, Camp Misericordiae, took us 5 hours and we arrived there tired at 1:30 in the morning. My favourite part of WYD was seeing Pope Francis who waved at our family while passing by." Anna Shields (12)
"World Youth Day is an event where a million people gather together and pray, have confession and masses, and see the Pope. Sometimes you stay overnight outside with no tent. For one night we did that. If it rained you would have been soaked. My family and I were soaked the next day. We walked 5 hours to the vigil. I found it really difficult walking five hours. I learned in Poland traditional food was pyerogi. I really liked the masses in the arena a lot., because at the end there was a concert and praise and worship." Rebekah (8)
Aba Shields, mother of Ellice, Anna and Rebekah also reflects: " I left Krakow blessed by the experience and wondering what I was carrying back with me: three things. Firstly, the Catholic church regardless of our personal experience is ALIVE and our spiritually hungry youth can be fed if we lead them! Secondly, we may be like the young person who gave a testimony after being tearful and not wanting to leave WYD in Madrid. Going to confession to confess his fear and perhaps lack of trust he received wise counsel. The priest said, ‘Go and don’t be afraid. Clasp your hand close to your mouth and blow hard…always remember that God is closer to you than that breath’. Thirdly, participating in the sacraments: Confession and the Eucharist ARE key."
