By Josh McDermid
With pilgrims coming from pre-World Youth Day pilgrimages in Italy and the Holy Land, and others travelling direct from Melbourne, we were finally able to gather as a whole Archdiocese of Melbourne group on the Monday evening of World Youth Day week. Archbishop Peter Comensoli, joined by Bishops Martin Ashe and Anthony Ireland, and the other priest chaplains, celebrated Mass in the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima for 530 pilgrims.
Tuesday saw the beginning of the official World Youth Day events. We met up with other Australian pilgrims at the Australian Gathering, where we were led in praise and worship by singers including Gen Bryant and Fr Rob Galea. We also had testimonies from pilgrims and addresses from some of the bishops. The second major event for this day was the uplifting Opening Mass celebrated by the Patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal Manuel III.
The first of the three ‘Rise Up’ sessions took place on Wednesday. These sessions involved catechesis from a bishop followed by Mass. Wednesday’s theme was Integral Ecology. The afternoon was then free for pilgrims to explore Lisbon and some of our Melbourne pilgrims decided to ‘gatecrash’ the American Gathering, where we privileged to hear the world-famous Bishop Robert Barron preach on the Eucharist.
The theme for Thursday’s ‘Rise Up’ session was Social Friendship and many of the Melbourne pilgrims had the opportunity to attend catechesis and Mass with the Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher OP. That evening we joined half a million pilgrims for the official Papal Welcome. In a rousing speech, Pope Francis asked that we repeat after him “Todos! Todos! Todos! (Everyone! Everyone! Everyone!)” This was to emphasise that the Church has room for all.
On Friday, we attended the last of the ‘Rise Up’ sessions, focussing on the theme of Mercy. For many of us, it was a second opportunity to hear from Bishop Barron, who led a Eucharistic procession before delivering his catechesis in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. In the afternoon, we experienced the much-anticipated Way of the Cross, which proved to be a creative, modern reinterpretation of the traditional stations, combining Latin chant with contemporary dance, drama and videos of pilgrims whose lives had been transformed by their encounter with Christ.
Despite being a bit tired at this point, we were excited for the main event that would follow on the weekend.
PHOTOS: Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne