Wherein the Pope Waves at Me

A picnic lunch in the middle of the road, sitting under the watch of a policeman for two hours, feet kicking my bum while I stretch out on blacktop: it doesn't sound like  a great night.

But when Benedict XVI passed by, I jumped and waved like a preteen meeting Justin Bieber. I had thought I would cry, but instead, shocked that I'd seen one of my favorite spiritual writers, the leader of my Church, the symbol of our unity, I turned to Mrs. Bird: "Wha-wha - did you see that? That was the POPE! That was the Pope!"

Posted by Sarah

"Queridos amigos"

"Beloved friends," Benedict XVI began his address to the pilgrims gathered for the World Youth Day Vigil last night. Young people from the North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia milled around Cuatro Vientos all day, braving a crush of bodies, temperatures over 100 degrees Farenheit, and clouds of dust and rocks in the shadeless sleeping area, all vying for a good spot to celebrate Mass with the Pope today. And, boy, was I glad to watch from my room.

When I woke up yesterday morning, I did not think I could walk the pilgrimage to Cuatro Vientos, even after three cups of coffee.  My feet ached; my head ached; I could barely open my bleary eyes.  At Mass, I prayed for the grace to know my limitations, and I decided that I could do this; I had to do this for Christ crucified, for all the pilgrims who had braved worse conditions over the centuries.  And I especially had to do this for all people who were forced to make similar journeys.  In El Salvador this semester, I'd learned about the guindas during the civil war, when people were forced to flee from their own homes, hiding in the mountains from soldiers and bombs, walking for weeks to refugee camps where conditions were not much safer. This would be easy in comparison, a voluntary guinda in solidarity with refugees everywhere.

With this in mind, our suffocating metro ride and our trek in the unwavering sun to the vigil site was bearable.  We arrived at Cuatro Vientos around 3:30 p.m. and found D5, our sleeping area.  It was already full.  A fine, dry dust blew into our eyes, our noses, our teeth.  We set up our sleeping bags next to a fence, on the side of the road, rocks hard against our backs.

On Closed Metro Stops and Spilled Hot Chocolate

Hope in the kindness of strangers should not be lost. That is what I learned after Friday evening touring the Plaza Mayor and Plaza del Sol here in Madrid. All week our group had been trying to find a good place to get authentic tapas in Spain. Tapas are sort of like American appetizers, but traditionally the Spanish order a bunch of these little plates and share them around the table for their meal...both delicious and community-building!

We decided to try the Plaza Mayor and found a little pub on a street right off the Plaza that had a lot of charm and character. The host was extremely welcoming and grabbed our Betsy Ross flag and led us to our table. We each ordered an entree and a plate of tapas to share with various culinary delights, including fried prawns, crab pate, chorizo, and blood pudding. Some of our group was brave enough to try everything on the plate...I was not. As we were finishing, we heard a lot of commotion in the street outside the window. Crowding around, we saw a group of demonstrators, which made all of us very nervous. The host sensed some panic, so he came over to calm us down and assure us that it was nothing personal against us Catholics. Some people in Spain are protesting the cost that ensued from hosting World Youth Day. He told us that we should not be scared; if we walked out calmly and stayed together in a group, we would be absolutely fine. His attention to our needs really meant a lot to us.

The commotion died down as we left, but security was tight on every street we entered. Right before exiting the Plaza to find a Metro stop, someone in our group saw an advertisement for a little shop selling churros. Now, I had been raving about trying Spanish churros since we got to Madrid. When I was in high school, I saw Samantha Brown eating churros and hot chocolate in Madrid on the Travel Channel. Spanish hot chocolate is as thick as Hersheys syrup, and you are supposed to dunk these fried strips of dough into it to soak it up. When I saw Samantha enjoying them, I swore to myself that one day I would do the same. Someone told us we would not be able to get them in the summer, so I did not have my hopes up, but seeing this shop, everyone knew we had to stop. We exited with our bag of twelve fried donuts and liter of thick, rich chocolate and promptly spilled the chocolate all over the street in front of the store. One of the waiters saw what happened and led Sarah inside to give her a new bottle on the house. Once again, our spirits were lifted by the generosity of a stranger looking out for us.

We loaded our group on the Metro bound for a station near our hotel and rode in the crowded train with people from all countries chanting for their homeland and for ¨Benedicto!" As we left the Metro with a few women from Spain, we came to a halt where the turnstiles were roped off with police tape. The women with us, sensing some confusion and probably more than a little bit of stress, offered us directions in English to get back on the Metro to a station nearby. In the midst of a stressul, anxiety-ridden evening, it was so nice to have people around us who were helpful and sensitive to our needs in a strange city. Knowing this kindness was one piece of preparation for the vigil, but you will have to read our next blog to find out more about that adventure.

Posted by Kate

Photos of Catechsis and Mass at the Love and Life Center

Oh, And You Thought I Was Done Talking About Loyola!

We celebrated Mass in the Basilica after I visited the Holy House, and how could I let you miss that?

The St. Ignatius Basilica is GORGEOUS.

Well what else do you expect of Baroque architecture?  Baroque art was part of the Catholic Counter Reformation in response to the (you guessed it) Protestant Reformation. At the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the Church encouraged artists to return to dramatic and emotive art, emphasizing the grandeur and beauty of God and the Church.  With Baroque art, there's no such thing as "too much;" if you want to put dozens of cherubs and saints and marble inlay and gold everywhere, you got it right.  And the architect who built the St. Ignatius Basilica got it right.

We entered the Basilica a collective, "Oh!" Our necks craned upward, eyes dancing over every surface, stunned by the overwhelming beauty and detail in every corner.  I tripped several times; I think that's how to recognize good Baroque architecture: you forget to look where you're going.

The contrast of light and dark in the Basilica - very Baroque - was quite evident.  Although colors like burgandy and evergreen dominate the walls, the gold accents and sunlight streaming through the dome create contrast, reflecting the high stakes of faith that many felt during the Reformation and Counter Reformation. 

But the beauty of the Basilica did not limit itself to things seen.  Every time we spoke or sang, the sound echoed in clear voice for several seconds after.  And each time, I stood smiling, not wanting to continue speaking until the echo had finished, prolonging the celebration of the Mass for the sheer joy of that sound. 

Posted by Sarah, with thanks to Kate Ressel as Art History Consultant

Complete Surrender: My experience with Blessed Mother Teresa

Up until now, this pilgrimage has been an excercise in the unknown and the unexpected. Based on God's penchant for pushing us out of our comfort zones, this makes complete sense.  However, perhaps one of my most powerful experiences stemmed not from stumbling on a cathedral that I had no clue existed, though believe me there have been some inspirational cathedrals, but rather on careful reflection on the life of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a true saint of our times who I have grown up hearing about my entire life. 
Located gloriously near our hotel, a blessing to our travel-weary group of pilgrims, The travelling museum exhibit, "Mother Teresa: Life, Spirituality, and Message" contains photos, a comprehensive telling of Mother Teresa's story--often in her own words and relics.  It also offers pilgrims a chance to pray and reflect on the inspirational example of Mother Teresa by providing a place of prayer. 
Blessed Mother Teresa's life truly corresponds to what has proven to be a major theme of World Youth Day: having the faith to totally abandon oneself to the will of God.  "I surrender myself completely to the good God's disposal" reads one of the first quotes of the exhibit.  Mother Teresa stands as a dynamic example of blind faith in the will of the Father.  From her initial answering of God's call to become a religious sister with the express vocation of spreading the love of Christ as a missionary, to her later deeper understanding of her vocation to form the Missionaries of Charity and carry the light of Christ into the slums of the world by serving the poor of the poor, Mother Teresa was always willing to give everything over to God.  The exhibit reveals that Mother Teresa made a private vow early in her ministry never to hold back anything from Christ--or suffer the pain of mortal sin.  I found myself inspired and almost intimiated by this demonstration of reckless abandonment to God. 
The exhibit goes into great depth dealing with what Mother Teresa came to call "The Darkness," that period of her life when she felt completely cut off from Christ.  It is perhaps one of the most profound examples of the so-called, "Dark night of the soul."  After her death, the media made much of this period in Mother Teresa's life, almost as if they were trying to discredit her faith in God.  The exhibit, however, shows this "Darkness" for what it truly was and how Mother Teresa eventually came to be thankful for it.  In this period of intense interior desolation, Christ was allowing Mother Teresa to experience the deep sorrow and anguish He himself felt at the plight of the poor who lived without Him.
Mother Teresa was truly a modern saint and one of the most powerful elements of the exhibit is to see the fruits of her labors alive and well.  The Missionaries of Charity are constantly walking around the exhibit and are happy to talk and answer questions.  One sister from the Czech Republic took a picture with members of our group and recalled her experience as a small girl of seeing Mother Teresa years ago when she visited her country. The sister's face lit up as she recalled the encounter.
We are called to be Christ to the earth; to serve as He served and to love as He loved.  One sees this truly in the life of Mother Teresa.  The exhibit opens with a picture of the children of Calcutta.  They are looking at Mother Teresa with eyes that brim with tears, trust, and love.  Even though it is the only picture in the exhibit that Mother Teresa doesn't appear in directly, it is the most accurate picture of her I have ever seen.  In fact, it is perhaps such a beautiful portrait because she doesn't appear in it.  Mother Teresa did not care about leaving a legacy by which she would be remembered and glorified, she cared about doing the work of Christ on earth.  That is what the photo shows.  I realized as I stared at that picture that this is precisely how children would have looked at Christ.   Then it struck me, the children in the picture are.

Videos From the Mass at the Basilica in San Sebastian

A Must-See for Me in Madrid

I had known for weeks before we got to Madrid that one thing I wanted to do when I got to this great city was visit the Prado. A few weeks before we left, there was an announcement that paintings were being brought in to the museum especially for World Youth Day, perhaps most impressively a piece by Caravaggio brought in from the Vatican collection. Being an art minor in college and having an art teacher as a father, this was an opportunity of a lifetime for me.

Last night we decided that today would be the perfect day to visit the museum: it was a must see on our list and we expected that it wouldn't be extremely crowded on the first day of World Youth Day. We arrived shortly after it opened, and it was surprisingly crowded. However, we must have gotten there just in time because the line increased greatly right behind us. Walking in to the rectangular, cement building, we headed right for the second floor and began our tour, highlighting the pieces as part of the World Youth Day exhibit.

Traversing the winding hallways and white galleries, we came upon a piece that impressed us all. Right in front of us hung the astonishingly large canvas of Murillo's Immaculate Conception. This familiar depiction shows Mary surrounded by glorious clouds and angels, and was the first to paint Mary dressed in blue and white garb with here hands crossed over her chest and her eyes raised to heaven. Our group's pastor, Fr. Sawicki, explained to us that this piece was the precedent for all other pictures in which the Virgin Mother is shown in like manner. To know that we were able to view such a treasure in person, especailly after our powerful experience in Lourdes, was almost unbelievable.

Another piece that made an impact on me especially was Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) by Francisco de Zurbaran. Although not as well know as other artists, Zurbaran created a piece that I am sure many people would recognize. It has no overtly religious characteristics; it is simply as lamb that has been bound and prepared for sacrifice. However, it is certainly a piece that people who have a knowledge of the faith would relate to Christ. The plaque next to the painting says that Zurbaran intended to create texture in the lamb's wool and horns so as to draw you into the image and have you contemplate it more deeply. It is much smaller than I ever expected it to be, which really did add to the enticing details.

Although not one of the highligthed paintings for the WYD exhibit, a favorite among our group was The Garden of Delights by Bosch. I have to admit, I had not heard much about Boshc before, my father the artist said this was one piece we absolutely could not miss when we were at the Prado. Once we got to the room it was in, we all had to admit it was really intriguing. Painted with many details and vibrant colors, this is a tryptich, meaning it is three separate pieces to form the whole picture. The left side show Eden, with God marrying Adam and Eve. The middle panel shows earth, with figures doing seemingly meaningless and idiotic tasks, such as men riding horses in a circle, trying to find the fountain of youth. The rightmost panel shows hell, where the people are being tormented by strange and ominous beings, including one with the face of Bosch himself. Telling by the amount of time we spent in front of it, I could say it really made us all think about our lives!

Finally we arrived at the pinnacle of the trip: El Descendimeniento (The Descent) by Caravaggio. The staggeringly large canvas is part of a display that takes up two walls of the gallery. One wall is reserved for the painting itself and the other is for a description of the piece. The depiction is of Christ being taken down from the cross, using a technique called chiaroscuro, or extreme contrast between light and dark. The background of the painting is very dark, while Christ is highlighted in the foreground with glowing pale skin and a white sheet. Mary His Mother, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, mother of Cleophas, are all depicted in the background with different expressions of sorrow. Standing before this masterpiece, the hairs on my arms stood up and I got goosebumps. Aside from the fact that  will probably never see this piece again outside of the Vatican, it is extremely powerful in its depiction of sorrow, though we Chirstians know the hope that is to follow this despair. Fr. Sawicki was so inspired by it, he began to base a Good Friday homily off it (something to look forward to, St. Francis).

This visit was something I will not soon forget. It was a pleasure being able to write this blog entry, especially because we were prohibited from use of photography and I could reflect more on what I remember about some of my favorites. I hope my reflections and descriptions were able to engage your minds and imaginations, as mine were!

Posted by Kate

"Benidicto"

The city of Madrid and its people, whether, temporary or perminate are waiting on the sidewalks to welcome the Holy Father to town. The sidewalks are humming with excitement as people sing and chatter waiting for the Pope.  Groups from different countries pass by singing with enthusiasm. Not only the youth of the world are ready but so is the city. The streets are blocked off and policemen and women line the streets. Police on mounted  horses ride by every once in a while surving in anticipation for the Holy Father. The police would have excited looks on their faces I think if they weren't in uniform and on crowd control, but one can see them smiling.  Although by just looking at the youth one may tell that they are bursting with excitement. But who wouldn't, because we, the youth of the world, have the opportunity to welcome the leader of our church to World Youth Day and the city of Madrid. As the time draws nearer for our "El Papa" (Spanish name for the Pope) to pass by one can hear youth chanting and singing on the sidewalks. A person in the crowd can feel the excitement in the air, and feel in rising in all present. "Its a once in a lifetime experience, not everyone gets to see the Pope, so it feels very surreal," says Tyler Starmack, a pilgrim from Sacred Heart of Jesus in Lewisburg. For me I am excited beyond what words can describe to see the Holy Father. Its like Tyler said, surreal to see the model of my faith in person. I'm sure all will remember this day all their life and tell their grandkids and maybe even great grandchildren about it.
BY: KATIE MULLEN

One body...Not alone

"We are one body, one body in Christ, and we do not stand alone..."

This morning these words echoed through the church of San Francisco de Borja as many English-speaking pilgrims received the Eucharist after their morning catechesis session. As I sat in the pew and sang along to the familiar tune, I contemplated how much these words are applicable to World Youth Day. I knew one of the benefits of coming here would be to be affected by seeing the gathering of so many diverse cultures for one purpose; I am just not sure I knew how much of an impact it would have on me. Walking through the Plaza del Sol yesterday, we were greeted by so many people who wanted to know where we were from and take their picture with us. However, this could also be because we have been carrying around a Besty Ross flag to stand out from the crowd and many people have been confused about what country we are really from. It is a great way to convey some American history to others! We came upon groups of Italians who taught us a chant, French who invited us to a concert that evening, Germans who exuded kindness and warmth, and Syrians who impressed us with their bravery in standing up for Catholicism. As a group, we later discussed their country and how they were being persecuted for the faith. It must be so amazing and moving for them to be in this environment when people are loving and supportive and rejoicing in Catholicism. As I sit here, I am struggling to find the words to describe how incredible it is to be united with so many others under our love for Christ and His Church. Many people know that this is a highlight of World Youth Day but I think it is a feeling that one just has to experience to understand the importance of.

Today I lived another highlight of WYD, having the great privelege and honor of seeing our Holy Father in person for the second time in my life; the first being at Nationals Stadium when he visited the US in 2008. We waited expectantly to see the "Pope-mobile" drive by, cheering as it passed through the crowds lining Calle de Serrano. 

Although there were people pressing in upon me from every side, nothing seemed to matter at that moment other than the fact the Pope Benedict was less than ten feet away from me! He greeted all the pilgrims in the Plaza de Cibelles after the procession, where he accepted gifts from representatives from around the world and gave us his blessing, before the welcome was closed with a stunning performance of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. Again, I came away from today with my love for the Church strengthened and rejuvinated. It has been such a blessing to experience that so many times throughout this whole trip and to be reminded that conversion, the turning towards God, is a continual process that never ceases during human life. 

As we left the Plaza to shouts of,  " Viva el Papa!" and wound our way back through the crowds to the hotel, the words from this morning resounded in my head, that we truly are one body in Christ and none of us, whether Americans, Italians, Syrians, or any nationality, ever stands alone.

Posted by Kate

A Tale of Two Vocations (and Two Cities)

Candace Vandeven and Emily Kline first met in Gaming, Austria, while studying abroad with Franciscan University in the Spring of 2007. The two were randomly placed together as roommates but became good friends and also shared a room for their final year in school. Little did they know that three years later they would be reunited at a convent in Galapagar,  Spain (a forty-minute bus ride outside Madrid). This time, however, they were meeting as Candace Warfield and Sister Maria Ecclesia.

After Emily joined the convent in Fall 2009, and Candace moved to Harrisburg, PA, with her husband, the friends kept in touch by writing letters. When Candace decided to make the pilgrimage to World Youth Day with the Diocese of Harrisburg, she prayed that there would be a chance to visit with Emily. I also went to school with Emily, and Peter and I decided to travel with Candace to Galapagar.

When we arrived at the house of the Daughters of Mary of the Heart of Jesus (Hi as de Santa Maria del Corozon de Jesus) it was paradoxically a bustle of activity pervaded with peace. The sisters, who jokingly call themselves the "cafe con le che" (coffee with milk) sisters because of their tan and white habits, greeted us with brilliant smiles and were eager to practice their English on us. They were in the middle of having a vocation fair and retreat for the World Youth Day participants, and Emily gave us a tour of the convent and described her days filled with work, study, recreation, and prayer.

Both girls heard the call to their vocations while in school, while praying in front of the Eucharist. In high school, Candace contemplated a religious vocation, but met her future husband the first weekend of college (ironically, at an informational meeting on studying abroad in Austria). Emily, on the other hand, dated in middle school and high school and was actually in a serious relationship when she heard God calling her to religious life. She first saw the Daughters of Mary while they were praying in the adoration chapel and officially met them at Franciscan University's vocation fair. After visiting the sisters in Spain over her Spring Break, Emily moved to the convent after graduation and is now a pre-novice.

Emily glows while talking about life in the convent and Candace smiles warmly while talking about her husband proposing their junior year of college. God had the perfect plan for both of them. These two friends are both in love with their vocations, as different as they are. Or are they so different?

Before heading back to Madrid, we got the chance to venerate a relic of St. Raphael Arnaiz, the youngest patron saint of World Youth Day and a saint who struggled with his own vocation in life. Raphael's words sum up beautifully what is at the heart of one's vocation:

"I am nothing more than a soul in love with Christ. He does not want anything but my love. May my life be nothing but an act of love."

-Mary-Kate

A Fig Grows in Madrid

We spent a long time waiting in line to see the Palacio Real this afternoon, and although we suffered from heat, lack of water, and sore feet, we made friends with some Italians from Milan!

Italians are all over Madrid this week, and they are characters!  One of our acquaintances told us that the Italians think that there are more Italians than Spaniards in Madrid right now, so every minute an Italian yells out, "Italiano batti le mani! Italians, clap your hands!" and people start clapping all over the place to prove it.  We hear them singing their national anthem in the subway accompanied by kazoos, they ask everyone they meet to sign their flags, and when they see American flags they shout, "USA! USA!" to see if the Americans will join in and make some more noise!

We from St. Francis Xavier had an Italian connection and told some of our new friends about our Sicilian pastor.  They told us that we would be able to tell Sicilians from other Italians; the Sicilians would be the crazy loud people jumping all over the place.  Remind you of anyone?

Envio mucho amor a Padre Pistone de los y las peregrin@s de San Francisco Javier!

Posted by Sarah

Spain!!!

Watch "Spanish Pilgrims Get Excited!" on YouTube

Look at all the cool folks I met on the street today!

Monica Burke

A Surprise in Burgos

   It´s difficult not to notice the beautiful devotion Spain has to Our Blessed Mother Mary when you´re here.  In every church we´ve visited on this pilgrimage in Spain there has been at least one statue of Mary surrounded by flowers, crowned in jewels, and clothed in beautiful colors.  The Blessed Mother is so important to Spain that this country is known as the land of the Virgin Mary. While in Burgos, my group from St. Francis Xavier in Gettysburg was able to witness a particular event that honored Mother Mary.
  On August 14th we arrived in Burgos.  After a long bus ride we wanted to stretch our legs and explore famous Burgos for the one night we would be there.  Only a few minutes´ walk from our hotel was the cathedral of Our Lady of Burgos.  As we approached the cathedral, the steeples were no longer peeping from over the rooftops, but towering over us in the night sky.  We marveled at the grandeur of the exterior against the moonlight and sensed the great love these people have for Mary and her Son.
  Of course this was the perfect time to have left my camera back at the hotel, I was thinking, but something else had soon caught my attention.  Around the corner of the cathedral there was the sound of singing and clapping.  There was a large crowd of young people on their way to Madrid gathered in a plaza and singing and dancing along to various bands.  It looked like they were having a great time, so we obviously wanted to join them.  However, we were stopped by some volunteers who  were warning us to get out of the way for some reason.  We thought the concert was over and everyone was going to leave.  But then we saw what everyone was making way for.  Men were carrying large, red flags, women and children were dressed in traditional Spanish garb and dancing, and others were playing an uplifting tune on flutes and drums.  In the midst of it all, a statue of Our Lady of Burgos, seated on a golden chair, was being carried in procession to the cathedral.
   All of a sudden we were in the middle of all the noise and dancing and praise.  We stood on the steps of the cathedral as the procession came quickly to the front doors and stopped.  The women kept dancing to the music, giving glory to God for their spiritual mother.  Then as quickly as the procession came, it went into the cathedral with the dancers leading the way and the statue of Mary being carried away.  When the music stopped, I looked at some of the people in my group next to me with as much amazment as they looked at me.  We certainly weren´t expecting such a fanfare at 10 o´clock at night!
   As the doors to the cathedral had been opened for the procession, we thought we´d sneak a peak into the cathedral before the next day.  They people in the procession had placed the statue of Mary respectfully next to the beautiful main altar and there she watched over us at Mass the next morning for the Feast of the Assumption.
  When I think back on this beautiful surprise we had, I realize that it was all Mother Mary´s doing.  She had already called us to Lourdes to receive many graces there, and now she was calling us to Spain to welcome us to her land.  As she opened the doors to the cathedral in Burgos for us, so I expect her to open even more doors for us as we continue in this pilgrimage!  Our Lady of Burgos, pray for us.


Also, check out this new website! It was just launched on the 15th for the Feast of the Assumption. The website encourages young people to spend 1 minute a day with Mary: www.marianminute.org







 

A Pilgrim's Journey Leads to Loyola

Diocese of Harrisburg, I have a confession to make.

I love St. Ignatius Loyola.  Absolutely love him.  Born to a Jesuit-educated mother, baptised by a Jesuit, raised by parents who worked at a Jesuit university, and finally attending a Jesuit university myself, it's no wonder I love the founder of the Society of Jesus.

So when I heard that we would visit Loyola, the place where Ignatius was born and the place where he turned his life around, I was excited.  Maybe even more excited than I was for Lourdes.  And possibly even more excited that I was for World Youth Day. And Loyola did not let me down.

The Basque country of northern Spain amazed me as we pulled into the town: all green, apartments with flower boxes and colorful clothes hanging off the balconies, cobblestone streets.  I hurried from lunch to the Holy House (the Loyola house), following the tour guide until the castle stood out in its stony magnificence against the sky and the town.

We did not have much time in the Holy House, so I rushed upwards, past rooms where a young Iñigo (Ignatius' given name) had played and dreamed to be a soldier,

past the room where he was born,

until at the top of the castle I found myself staring through a window topped by script saying: "Here Igñigo of Loyola surrendered himself to God."

I fell in love with Ignatius this year when I read his autobiography, A Pilgrim's Journey, for a class on Jesuit spirituality.  Ignatius is not a great writer, and he did not want to write about his life: the Jesuits asked him to write an autobiography for months before he agreed to sit down and do it, he dictates his story in the third person, and finishes the tale abruptly, basically saying, "Father So-and-so knows the rest of the story; go ask him."  He was a great friend, one of the prolific letter writers of his day.  His friends from the University of Paris, Peter Faber and Francis Xavier (my parish patron!) also became saints (Peter is still a Blessed), and isn't the best friend the one who helps you become a saint? He was also very dramatic.  When he decided to give his life to God, he went to a monastary, took off all his armor and his sword, and left it there; he grew out all his hair and nails and didn't bathe.  If he was going to be a saint, he was going to do it all the way!

He eventually learned that long dirty hair didn't bring him closer to God, but his most important gift to the world started in a bed in that room at the top of Loyola castle.  Ignatius had been horribly injured in the Battle of Pamplona, and had to lie in bed all day while waiting to recover.  He asked his sister to bring him stories about knights, but she didn't have any, so she gave him a copy of The Life of Christ and a book about the saints. Ignatius didn't have much to do besides imagine himself achieving glory on the battlefield and impressing "a certain lady," so he read the books.  He was impressed by people like St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic, thinking, "I could do that easy," and started to daydream about fasting and doing great things for God.  He noticed that after his dreams about knightly glory, he felt restless and unfulfilled, but after thinking about saintly feats, he felt happy.  He realized that God was communicating to him through his imagination and desires, and The Spiritual Exercises, a retreat that emphasizes imagination as a form of prayer, was born.

I quietly entered the room where Ignatius decided to become a saint and approached the altar, praying for my own conversion.  Ignatius reminds me that I can be Catholic without being devoted to God's will, that a good friend helps me on my journey to God, that I should go all the way for God even if I won't get my calling right the first time, that God will help me get to heaven if I only have the audacity to try to make it.  I know that St. Ignatius, "the pilgrim" as he called himself, is praying for all of us at World Youth Day, and I ask him to pray especially for those Jesuit-educated who are proud to call him a friend.

My Awesome New Friends!

Today I met so many people! I swapped a Harrisburg Diocese pin for a keychain with a young man from Malaysia (shown in the picture)  On the metro my brother and I met Carmen, a 24-year old from Lebanon (the country-not the city in our diocese) who is studying for her doctorate in pharmacy. "I love America!" She exclaimed,scribbling our names in her notebook. "Want to be friends on Facebook?"
In line for dinner we met a cheerful youth group leader from New Zealand, and a group from Paris signed my backpack after the Marian Festival.
So many people of so many different cultures and countries, all joined together to praise God...maybe this is a bit of what heaven will be like.
Minus the flies and the heat.
-Mary-Kate

August 16, 2011 Madrid knows how to host an opening mass

Hola blog Family!
    I am blessed, this is my second WYD and what I remember  first, well right after of the beauty of Austraila, was the opening mass. The crowds, the excitement, the buzzing talk by pilgrims anticipating the Holy Father's arrival-it was amazing and like nothing I could have prepared for. I was so excited for the pilgrims on this trip to see this excitment, and some how I think Madrid trippled the crowd excitment.

    This was a crowd that puts Hershey Park to shame-the above photo only shows the top of one side of the crowd surrounding the palace.

With press credentials I was finally able to retreat out  of the sardine can and up for a birds eye view of the mass-see left.
With a crowd like this I anticipate the rest of WYD to continue to grow with 100,000 of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. Just in my brief run in the crowd I met pilgrims from China, England, and Italy-these were only the young adults I spoke to. With sounds trippling a pro-football stadium we held a very small conversation of mostly where are you from and can you believe this crowd!

August 15, 2011 Celebrating the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Burgos Cathedral

Hello Blog Family,
    Here are just a few pictures to describe the beauty in Burgos Cathedral.
    Mass was celebrated by Bishop Kevin Rhoades and concelebrated by Bishop Joseph McFadden. We were joined together as not only as two Diocese of Harrisburg and Fort Wayne-South Bend, but also by the people of  Burgos who celebrated the Holy Day mass with us.
    The correspondents have done a wonderful job of explaining the mass and the overwhelming feeling you take in as you see the Burgos Cathedral inside and out, please enjoy some of these photos to help you visualize what the correspondents write about.
Thank you and God Bless,
Emily Albert

The Fourth Glorious Mystery

Today was a truly blessed day for us peregrinos, or pilgrims. Not only were we able to participate in Mass at the beautiful Burgos Cathedral with Bishop McFadden, Bishop Rhoades, and another Bishop from Australia, but we were able to be there for the celebration of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (a national holiday here in Spain!). It was a deeply moving, spiritual, and thought-provoking ceremony. Here are my thoughts on celebrating this special day in Spain.

As I mentioned above, the Assumption is a national holiday here in Spain. It took me several minutes to process that single thought in my mind. When examined we can realize that Spain must have a large enough Catholic population to demand that the Assumption be called a national holiday. In fact, 73% of the Spanish population is Catholic. That is just about 3/4 of the entire population. America however can only claim 22% of the population to be Catholic. Not even 1/4 of our population. I took some time to meditate upon this information. Now I ask you to do the same. Imagine to yourself living in a country where all of the stores and shops close down because it is a Holy Day. Being able to know that your neighbors, friends, and family are all celebrating the same event that day. What kind of nation would we be? For us Catholics, a better one with stronger faith. I think today was a truly a blessed day for us pelegrimos.

The Big Catholic Party

Hola! It's 1:30am in the morning in Madrid and we are just getting in from our kick-off mass and cultural celebrations. Madrid is a city that never sleeps and so far the youth from around the world are keeping up with it.

After "training" (gripping the backpack of the person in front of you and hanging on for dear life as you are yanked through the jammed streets and sidewalks) our way through massive amounts of people, we made it to the Palacio de Alcala, the home base of the English-speaking activities at World Youth Day, run by the Knights of Columbus. My first impressions of the building was that it was blessedly cool, had seats, and volunteers that spoke my language. After sitting and kneeling on hot asphalt for the past two hours at the opening mass, simply these facts would be enough to make me a happy camper.

However, since I suppose the novelty of air conditioning must wear off at some point (though at this point I think I'll marvel at it for the rest of my life) there were some awesome concerts planned.

Steve Angrisano took the first set, leading us all in a bilingual version of "Yes Lord" (aka 'Si Senior' and 'Oui Mon Dieu'). Cameras swooped by, and the St. Catherine Laubore group dominated the jumbo screens set up in all corners of the stadium.

During intermission, I had a chance to chat a bit with Amy, a recently-graduated law student from Sydney. With a bright blue flag draped around her shoulders, Amy told me this was her second World Youth Day, as she had attended the last one, which was conveniently in Sydney. When I asked her why she made the 10,981.94 mile journey to Madrid, Amy cheerfully assured me that there was no way she would miss the "big Catholic Party." "It's amazing to experience the universal Catholic Church."

Since Scythian, the originally scheduled band, couldn't make it (rumor has it they missed a plane) L'Angelus brought our celebration to the next level. A sizzling sibling band with Cajun roots, L'Angelus got kids who'd been on their feet all day hopping around, dancing "Cotton-Eyed Joe" in giant lines stretching across the stadium, and, of course, bopping around in giant conga lines. They ended their set with a blisteringing cover of "Shout" that had us all joyfully jostling each other while jumping.

L'Angelus left the stage despite the chant of "One more song! One more song!" With sighs of dissapointment, groups reformed and retrieved backpacks. And that's the amazing thing. All of us are tired, hot, and sore, but yet we hate to call it a night. I get a new surge of energy every time I spot a youth smiling, a group from another country singing, or hear thousands of us singing "Lean on Me" together.

So let the party continue!

.

--Mary-Kate

August 14, 2011 Left Lourdes and Arrived In Loyola, Mass in St. Ignatius Basilica photos: Emily M. Albert

The following slide show shares with you our Dioceses time spent in Loyola.
    After our final morning in the beautiful city of Lourdes, in Southern France, we once again hopped onto the bus and prepared for a few hour trip to our next destination. During the bus ride we watched as the landscape changed, not drastically but it was evident we were traveling further away from France. After crossing the border into Spain our bus guide explained that as we traveled closer to Madrid and further away from the Atlantic the beautiful green fields full of sunflowers and plush green grass would soon appear much dryer. In my mind I thought, like traveling from PA to North Carolina, but then again after the summer PA has had I suppose we are looking pretty dry.
    I truly wish I could have begged the bus driver to pull over every twenty miles, because there were so many beautiful landscapes to photograph.
    Once in Loyola we had a refreshing lunch in a room sized like a college dining hall, in the slide show that is the photo of the long tables and of people eating. The meal consisted of a chicken breast, salad, bread (of course, carbs are not a worry of the French and Spanish) and light serving of ice cream for dessert.
     The large Basilica and photos of a castle like inside and outside are from St. Ignatius' Holy House. This is the same place St. Ignatius was born, and we were able to stand in the exact room of his birth.
    After a brief tour of the Holy House, we processed into the Basilica as a family of two Dioceses, Harrisburg and Fort Wayne-South Bend, you will see photographs of the participants of mass, Bishop Joseph McFadden celebrating mass, and Bishop Kevin Rhoades concelebrating with priest from both diocese.
    Thank you for following our journey, God Bless, you are in our prayers every day.
Emily Albert

August 13, 2011 Retreat with Bishop Joseph McFadden photos: Emily M. Albert

Hello blog family,

We do apologize for the lack of post early on in the trip. I suppose it was not a priority of the spirituality of the town of Lourdes to make wifi speedy. But be reassured we are posting as fast as we can while the internet is cooperating in Madrid.

    The following slide show shares some special moments during a retreat at The City of St. Peter's, Lourdes where they host traveling pilgrims.

    You will see some photos of group activities and others of pilgrims during reflection time. The youth and young adults were asked to take 30 minutes without speaking to one another. They distanced themselves around the landscape, despite the light drops of rain. Many reflected, wrote in their journals, and others just spent quiet time with God.

Thank you for following our journey and God Bless,

Emily Albert

August 14, 2011 Last Morning in Lordes Photo: Emily M. Albert

Hello Blog Family,
A brief explanation of what you will be looking at in the slide show.
    During our Last morning in Lourdes I took a few hours with Associated Director of the Youth Office, Virginia Pereira, and followed the stations of the cross at the grotto, you will see some of my favorite images from each station, the youth of the diocese was able to follow these stations with their groups the day before, some have already posted. I wanted to be sure you could see the beauty they are describing. Loaded with a backpack of photography equipment and a wonderful camera around my neck, I thought to myself while walking up the steep slope to each station how did Jesus Christ do this?! Though I'm here for communication coverage I have been able to strengthen my faith and I hope some of these images speak to you as much as they spoke to my heart as I photographed them.
    Also included is a spanish interview between Mrs. Pereira and a pilgrim who traveled to Lourdes for healing.

Marian Tourchlight Procession August 12, 2011 photos: Emily M. Albert

The following blog you are viewing are moments from the Marian Light Procession in Lourdes. Our pilgrims followed along with hundreds of other visiting pilgrims through the grotto, praying the rosary. The peace could be felt among the entire crowed and in a time with so much destruction you really thank God for these special quiet and peaceful moments among people from all over the world.
Thank you and God Bless,
Emily