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| Our group heading out after the bus ride to the start of the pilgrimage route |
Our pilgrimage to the papal vigil and Mass site took almost five hours, which included about 45 minutes on a bus and more than 14 kilometeres of walking. It was sunny and warm.
Thankfully there were often water stations and people who lived on the route were sprinkling pilgrims with water from their hoses.
When we finally made it in and found our spot, we learned one disabled pilgrim from our group was still not there. She arrived only after the pope had left the vigil. She had been at the disabled transit point since 12:30 p.m. Crazy.
Around 7 p.m. on Saturday, the pope arrived and drove by our section. Unfortunately I didn't get a great picture because the Sun was behind his vehicle.
There were reflections on the corporal works of mercy and a stirring reflection from Pope Francis, who challenged the youth to not be couch potatoes. His reflection was followed by Eucharistic Adoration and benediction. After the pope left, there was a concert that went until 11 p.m.
Overnight was damp with the dew but we all got some sleep (more or less). In the morning we were delighted when some our lost pilgrims found us but were saddened to hear of the ordeal they faced. We slowly woke up and had breakfast as we listened to music from the main stage.
I made my way over to the priest section to get vestments for mass. On the way, I ran into a British bishop from just outside London.-He had stayed overnight in the field with his pilgrims. I think he was a shepherd who had the smell of his sheep!
One of the traditions of WYD is to provide priest pilgrims with a stole and chasuble at the closing Mass. The vestment is quite nice.
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| WYD 2016 Vestment |
We were seated in an area that had priests, religious sisters and other lay people like volunteers and other local supporters. I did not hear the translation of the Pope's homily at Mass because I had left the FM radio with the group of youth to allow them to hear the English-language broadcast.
I am always amazed at the logistics of distributing communion to such a cast crowd. There were priests in place for us that were concelebrants to receive the body and blood of Christ (by intinction) - others in the area waited until priests received then they received the body of Christ.
There were quite a few flags from Panama throughout the crowd - even where I was sitting! So I think they knew that the Holy Father would announce that they would be the site for WYD 2019.
Our trip home was marked with sun, rain, waiting, rain, crammed trains and blocked access points. And more rain! It took six hours to come home - but we walked a bit less because we figured out a train that was a short cut (and so did a few others)! I can tell you I was soaked to the bone; no part of me was dry.
When we arrived back at our hotel at around 7 p.m., we were exhausted. We learned that our disabled pilgrim who had left before I returned to the group from the priest section had arrived at the hotel about an hour and a half earlier - so getting home was better than getting there! When we gathered again, after taking showers and packing bags, there was so much energy in the room. It was amazing. Everyone was telling stories and relating experiences. It struck me as being a little like child birth: once you are through the pain, the joy emerges and you are overjoyed by the complete experience.
I am wrote this post on the bus as we transfered from Kraków to Warsaw for a direct flight home. We got on the bus at 1:45 a.m. Monday morning (so really still Sunday night). It has been pelting rain the whole time. All I can say is that thank God this was not the case Saturday night. That would have crushed us, I think.
When you get teens and young adults up at 1 a.m. for a four hour bus trip, you can be sure it's a pretty quiet ride.
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| The Cathedral of Krakow |
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