The day started off in true WYD style; our attempt to get to the designated English catechesis at Tourin Arena was thwarted by the trams being shut down this morning. So instead we caught a bus out to the nearest one. What divine intervention. We arrived at a church which was hosting an English catethesis animated by two youth groups from the UK, "The Ascent" and the "One Hope Project". They did an amazing drama about mercy thoughout the bible. We then heard Bishop Richard Malone speak to us about the theme of Mercy and how to let it come to us. He shared some wonderful personal antidotes and how it can relate to our daily lives. We then travelled to the city to Błondi park to await the official welcome by Pope Francis for the WYDs. His speech to the youth was exceptional! He really wants to get the youth moving forward and working not only in the church but also remembering to make links to those in the community and our families who have a lot of knowledge about life, like our grandparents. He further stressed the need for youth to show their joy to others around them, especially in today's world of tumult and fear. Here are some of our "one word summaries"; Pope, trust, mercy, moving, inspirational, interesting. Tomorrow, some of the group will go and visit the Shrine of Divine Mercy (St-Faustina) while others will attend morning catechesis. In the early evening we will participate in Stations of the Cross with Pope Francis.
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Today we visited Auschwitz. What an experience! There were many emotions felt and we were all moved. It is too soon to talk about what we experienced during our visit. We visited both Auschwitz and Auschwitz- Birkenau. Only WYD pilgrims were able to visit the site. only the outdoor exhibits were available to us. The site today was averaging 1,000 visitors an hour as compared to 50-60 per hour during regular visiting times. During our bus ride back to Auschwitz, as a Diocese we shared a bilingual prayer as a group. For each member of the group, Fr. John prepared a card and small lanyard which contained the story of an individual who went through Auschwitz. The lanyard contains a small bead representing Auschwitz, followed by a silver spring representing a spark. The next bead has the colours of the individual's country of origin. The last two beads are the initials of the individual. We arrived back at the parish and celebrated a bilingual mass together as a Diocese. Every joined together to get the mass organized within 10 minutes, what a wonderful show of unity amongst our group. In the evening we had free time to explore the city. Tomorrow promises to be a full day between catechesis then welcoming Pope Francis. Luckily the group is staying near the airport so on our way back to the church this afternoon we saw Pope Francis' plane on the tarmac!
And the pilgrims kept coming. Today we started the day with a trip into the city centre for a guided tour of Krakòw. There were many many pilgrims along the way. We visited the university that Pope John Paul II attended and studied theology. Our tour ended at the Wawel castle. We had lunch between the castle and the river, then started our walk to Błonia for the opening mass. Our walk to the site was quite easy as there police officers available to help us on our journey. We joined pilgrims from 180 countries. As we were waiting for mass to start, the skies opened....with the largest raindrops we had even seen. People became very creative about how to keep dry. We also managed to find Fr. John's twin. We managed to stay dry and now mass is about to start so we sign off for now!!
We left our host families bright and early this morning. On our way to Czętochowa, we made a quick stop to the shrine of St-Hedwig. She is one of the patron saints of Poland. 3 hours of travel later, we arrived in Czętochowa. There were many pilgrims from all over the globe visiting Jasna Góra, shrine of the Black Madonna. There were too many things to see in a short amount of time, especially with the large crowds. We saw many beautiful altars, the shrine of the Black Madonna and a statue of Pope John Paul II. There were multiple masses going on throughout our visit with many priests and bishops in attendance. Luckily the rain held off until the end of our visit! We are waiting to commence the final leg of our journey into Krakòw. The group has a more relaxed day here in Wrocław. A "late" start for the pilgrims with a mass at 10 am with all the parish WYD pilgrims, from Canada, France and Senegal. A completely bilingual mass, said in both French and Polish may all feel welcomed and included. As it was a regular Sunday morning mass the church was absolutely PACKED both top and bottom. The mass was presided by the Bishop from Annecy. Following mass, there was a festival of song and dance given in the pilgrim's honour. The afternoon was spent with our respective host families. We had the chance to visit the city a bit more and just hang out with our wonderful families. Tomorrow will be quite a busy day as we start off with mass at 7 am. At 7:45 am we board the bus to visit the church of the Black Madonna in Częstochowa. Following our visit we will be continuing on to Kraków where we are again being warmly welcomed and hosted by families. Stay tuned for tomorrow's update. What a concert! After the mass, which was presided by the Auxiliary Bishop of Edmonton, our group made its way to the Wrocław Stadium for the special activity of the Days of the Diocese, tickets to the Singing Europe show; a classical music event of choral music. The singers were great, and so was the atmosphere of the stadium. It was a great ending to an amazing day! Our group just finished attending a beautiful mass with other English pilgrims. There was a large delegation from the Archdiocese of Edmonton. The church was incredible with so many beautiful frescos. The mass was celebrated by the Auxiliary Bishop of Edmonton. This morning we had the opportunity to walk through the door of mercy at the Cathedral and enjoy 15 minutes of prayer. There were many different countries represented.
Shortly we will be heading off to the Stadium for a music concert to participates in Singing Europe. Our second day in our host parishes was even better than our first! Today's Cathetics was hosted by our very own diocesan delegation, to much success! After our midday mass, we made cards for the sick to be delivered to a local hospital as an act of mercy. One of our the pilgrims from our group was chosen to help deliver these cards that very afternoon! After making the get well soon cards, our pilgrims spend time in individual reflection and visitation of the various landmarks in his beautiful city. The evening was spent doing the way of the cross. Tomorrow will be an equally enlightening day, as we are to go to the cathedral and celebrate mass with the archbishop. Good night! Example of our handiwork!
This mornings catechesis and Mass was hosted by France. The catechesis was interesting. It was about baptism and our call and identity as Christians. They stressed the importance of being rooted in the Church, to be fed and nourished. With that we are able to be Christians in the world.
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AuthorSHi all! Welcome to the JP2's World Youth Day Group's blog about our Pilgrimage to Krakow, Poland for the 2016 WYD! Different pilgrims will be blogging about their experiences on our pilgrimage! ArchivesCategories |