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Claire McGrath set off for Sydney last week to take part in WORLD YOUTH DAY 2008. There are few places left in the world that can capture the imagination of young people and Sydney is one of those cities. It has a long tradition of welcoming the Irish. Indeed it was the Irish who are credited with helping to establish the Church in Australia when it was a prison colony on the far side of the world. Ten thousand young Irish people visit Sydney each year and many pass through the Irish parish near Bondi beach. It is ironic that the biggest regular event in the Church is World Youth Day at a time when perception dictates that young people are no longer interested in the Church. Beginning with a simple idea of Pope John Paul II meeting with the young people back in 1984, WYD has captured the imagination of many people and countries. It consists in young people going on a modern pilgrimage to modern cities and trying to search out some answers within the Church. World Youth Days are not small; millions attend them confounding many sceptics. In Manila (Philippines) brought together 6million young people to the Papal Mass the largest gathering of people ever in the history of the world. In Ireland WYD is probably the biggest youth ministry event. The pilgrims from Ireland (including over 20 from our Diocese, Claire McGrath representing our Parish) are aged over 18. Many of them have received regular faith formation in their diocese. Most of this will have been based on the theme for WYD,
‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witness’ (Acts 1:8) The pilgrimage begins with a visit to Melbourne for a programme entitled ‘Days in the Diocese’. Between the 15-20 July, Sydney will become the new Rome welcoming pilgrims from all over the world. Young people will celebrate, learn about their faith and encounter Jesus in a very special way. They will be led by Pop Benedict XVI who has invited them to attend, but will also challenge them to witness to their peers in their home countries using the Gospel as a way forward. World Youth Day can be watched on SKY TV Channel 769 (EWTN) World Youth Day (WYD) is the largest youth event in the world and will be held in Sydney from Tuesday 15 to Sunday 20 July 2008. Organised by the Catholic Church, WYD brings together young people from around the globe to celebrate and learn about their faith on a more regular basis. WYD08 will be the largest event Australia has ever hosted. It will attract over 125,000 international visitors - more than the 2000 Olympics. WYD08 will mark the first visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Australia. Through the WYD08 experience, young people from throughout the world will make a pilgrimage in faith, meet, and experience the love of God.
A foto is of me with my WYD hat on which apparently we need tomorrow as its very cold wherever we are going.
This group foto was taken at the food after the mass on Sunday, so basically this is the group that is looking after us, also included in that foto are the Germans and Signapore ones.
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