Parishioner Elizabeth Coleman went to the World Youth Day in Sydney and here is a record of her experiences there. You'll know Liz as the talented flautist who plays at 11.15am Mass. Take it away, Liz.
On July 10th I arrived in the Diocese of Parramatta in The Blue Mountains, Australia after 42 hours of travelling and three long flights! I was one of the youngest (16 years) among over 170 young pilgrims aged between 16-25 from the Westminster Diocese, and we were all heading to Sydney to join thousands of other young people from hundreds of different countries for an amazing event - World Youth Day 2008.
The idea of World Youth Day came from Pope John Paul II to reach out to the youth of the world. We are the next generation and he wanted to bring as many of us together as possible to celebrate and learn about our faith.
We were lucky to stay in the Blue Mountains for a section of the program called ‘Days in the Diocese’. This involved staying in parishes with local families to experience a close Australian community and to get to know the other pilgrims better before the main event in Sydney. I stayed with Philippa in Lorraine’s bungalow in Emu Plains and she was a really great host!
In these four days we had a really busy time, visiting Featherdale Wildlife Park, Katoomba Falls and Schoenstatt Shrine, as well as seeing an Aboriginal Show Off Dance and music, going to a Bush dance and seeing an International Band. On our last day of ‘Days in the Diocese’ we had Pilgrim Games organised for our Diocesan group and for young people from Lithuania, Poland, USA and Australia as well. ‘Days in the Diocese’ was amazing fun and we were all very sad to leave, because the community had made us all feel so welcome and had invited us into their homes with such warmth and generosity that it was truly hard to say goodbye.
For the next week we transferred to The King’s School, a boys’ boarding school which was empty for the holidays. We were staying here for the main WYD week. It was a huge building and took you about 10 minutes to get to the breakfast room in the mornings, which wasn’t pleasant as it was so cold – July is the Australian wintertime, with short daylight hours!
Our week ahead was packed with the main events. On our first day we travelled to Barangaroo for the opening Mass. The atmosphere was incredible with thousands of young people gathered together to celebrate the same thing, and this showed me just how many people in the world have such a strong faith. Mass was said in many different languages which reinforced the feeling that our faith is shared by so many around the world. For the next three days we had Catechesis in the mornings, followed by Mass. Catechesis involved lots of music, dancing, stories about the work of the Holy Spirit, and teaching from various Bishops. In the afternoons there would be many events to choose from. A few I went to with people from my group included visiting the famous Bondi Beach and also Darling harbour and attending many concerts.
There was great excitement when Pope Benedict arrived on 17th July, sailing into Barrangaroo surrounded by masses of young people hoping to see him and chanting ‘Benedicto! Benedicto!’. Before the group from our Diocese embarked on our walk to Randwick Racecourse, Father Damian who was the chaplain for our Diocesan group, celebrated Mass with us and instead of giving money at the offertory, we gave pieces of paper on which we had written the names of those back at home, that we wanted to pray for, so they could share in the events of World Youth Day even though they weren’t in Australia with us.
The whole week’s adventures and discoveries were concluded by the Pilgrimage walk to Randwick Racecourse where Pope Benedict would celebrate Mass with thousands of young Catholics. We walked together from King’s School across the city for the Evening Vigil and a ‘sleep-out’ under the stars, while we prepared for the final Mass said by the Holy Father himself. It was extremely exciting to be so close to the Pope and everyone felt it. He had such a presence which made it feel like such a special moment which I will never forget.
As well as the having the opportunity to celebrate my faith with many thousands of others, I had many wonderful experiences in Sydney. My host Lorraine took us to dinner where I ate some Australian specialities, Kangaroo and Crocodile (delicious!) and she also took us on a brilliant tour of Sydney Opera House as her daughter-in-law worked there. I felt so privileged to be given these opportunities and I’m very grateful indeed to the Catenians for their generosity in sponsoring me.
I was quite surprised at how sad I felt to be coming home when World Youth Day came to an end! When I had left on July 8th, I was nervous and didn’t know anyone, but throughout these precious two weeks I made many valuable pilgrim friends who made my religious journey enjoyable and memorable. At home, you often feel alone in your faith because few teenagers will talk openly about it. When people tell you how many young Catholics there are in the world, this means very little to you and your faith until you experience, as I did in Sydney, the reality of being surrounded by thousands of young people who share the same faith and feel the same way about Our Lord. WYD has helped me realise and talk about my faith, and has showed me that sharing your faith is one of the most special things you can do and I have witnessed how powerful The Holy Spirit is in bringing people closer together.
I would encourage anyone who gets the chance to go to World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid to go and experience the same feelings of holiness and happiness that I did. No matter how many times Father Damian reassured me that I would have the most amazing time, I was doubtful, and scared, because it was such a big step, and it was on the other side of the world! In fact, I did have the most amazing time which I will never forget, and - he was right - nothing will ever match up to it!
(Note, we hope to post a gallery of photos of Liz's trip on the website soon; a link will be added as soon as the gallery is ready.)