World Youth Day Rome
"The
Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14)
"On the eve of the new millennium, I make again to you my pressing appeal to open wide the doors to Christ who “to those who received him, gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12) To receive Jesus Christ means to accept from the Father the command to live, loving Him and our brothers and sisters, showing solidarity to everyone, without distinction; it means believing that in the history of humanity even though it is marked by evil and suffering, the final word belongs to life and to love, because God came to dwell among us, so we may dwell in Him." Pope John Paul II
"On the eve of the new millennium, I make again to you my pressing appeal to open wide the doors to Christ who “to those who received him, gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12) To receive Jesus Christ means to accept from the Father the command to live, loving Him and our brothers and sisters, showing solidarity to everyone, without distinction; it means believing that in the history of humanity even though it is marked by evil and suffering, the final word belongs to life and to love, because God came to dwell among us, so we may dwell in Him." Pope John Paul II
In 2000, I took 32 teens and adults to World Youth Day Rome. Until my current illness, it was the hardest thing that I ever had to do. In order to make it affordable so that as many young people could attend, we spent two years raising $30,000. We planned two major fundraisers. I wanted these fundraisers to be more than just the teens asking for money. They needed to fit into the purpose of the parish which is to build up the community of God. We planned two major dinners tied to raffles: a Spaghetti Dinner and a Pig Roast. We raised most of our money from the raffles which was about $10,000 from each one. We also did two car washes.
After talking with youth ministers who attended World Youth Day Denver in 1993, I wanted one adult for every four teens. God provided more than enough adults. They were expecting two million people to attend. In order to safely travel in such large crowds, each adult would keep tabs on their four teens. Because I had to ensure that I had everyone at every stop, it sped up role call. Instead of reading off thirty two names, I only had to check with eight people. When using public transportation and over crowded buses, it is much easier traveling in smaller groups. I did not assign myself a group which allowed me time for planning and hanging out with a different group each day. It also gave me flexibility for sickness of teens or leaders. We had people sick every day of this trip! We had a flag on a long collapsible pole which we would use any time that our group would be walking in large crowds.
We were traveling with a national youth program called Life Teen. At the time, we were a Life Teen parish. Life Teen planned the trip through an international youth organization called Youth Arise. They contracted two 747 to take about thousand young people to World Youth Day Rome. One plane would take off from Phoenix and one plane would take off from Chicago with a stop in Atlanta to pick up more passengers. The trip would be fourteen days covering Turin and Rome. We would fly to Milan and take a bus to Turin. We would be staying in simple housing which is part of the World Youth Day experience. For us, we will be sleeping on the floor of convention centers with thousands of other pilgrims from around the world. Our showers would be outside using water piped in from natural springs underground. In other words, it will be the coldest water that I have ever experienced!! I could not stand under the water for more than a couple of seconds! I am not exaggerating! Our toilets for next fourteen days would be port-a-potties. It will be one of hottest times of the year in Rome, and we will have no air conditioning.
Houston, we have a problem! We were scheduled to be on a United Airlines charter. I reserved a bus to take us to O'Hare Airport and drop us off. During the week, I received strange instructions from Life Teen not to go to the International Terminal, but have the bus go to this special entrance/gate. As we are boarding the bus, a parent is checking flight times on the airport website. There is no United flight scheduled to Atlanta or Milan at our scheduled time. I don't have time to think about it. We have to get to the airport. We get to the airport and the bus enters through this entrance with a security gate. Our bus is directed onto the tarmac and directed to a line of other buses! This is not part of the plan! I don't see a plane! Our bus is supposed to just drop us off! We sat there and waited. Waited! And waited! No one with any authority is around just a line of buses! I have no idea what is going on. An hour goes by. Nothing. My bus driver is supposed to be back so he can drive another group to Springfield. Another hour goes by. Finally, someone shows up and tells us that the plane is late coming from New York. It doesn't come for two more hours! Finally, I see this enormous plane coming towards us. It is not United Airlines. It is Tower Airlines and the paint is peeling off the plane! I think to myself: "We are taking this plane across the ocean!"
We pick up more youth and adults in Atlanta. We fly to Milan. I am the first one at the baggage claim. Houston, we have a problem! I notice that some of the luggage is wet! It has a blue tint to it! It smells like a toilet. One of the plane's toilets leaked all over luggage! There were 20+ people impacted! We take buses to Turin, and a Fiat convention center. We finally arrived at our destination almost 24 hours after we left Holy Angels! It is a huge convention center that will house thousands of young people. We will have daily youth rallies including a pilgrimage through the streets of Turin. Because it is the Jubilee year, we will see the real Shroud of Turin. It is only the fifth public display of the Shroud since 1898. Several people from my group were able to visit the Mother house of the Salesian order and are able to see several incorruptible saints including St John Bosco.
The devil is real! Over the years, anytime that I have had a program (retreat, camp, conferences), where teens could be greatly impacted, the devil attempted to muck things up. This pilgrimage will change the lives of everyone including the adults. When I arrived in Turin, I was told by Youth Arise that the plane was messed up because the original travel agent left town. He stole the $50,000 deposit for the United planes so a week before we supposed to leave we have no planes! We were only able to charter planes from Tower Airlines because they were bankrupt. On the way home, we will be on the last plane flight of Tower Airlines! I also found out that Turin is known as "The Devil's City" because of the amount of satanic activity. Let me give you highlights of the rest of the trip and you decide:
Day Two: Turin -Youth Rally. Someone sneaks into the back of the building at 3 am and tries to burn the building down by lighting a big industrial garbage can on fire! The building fills up with black smoke. We evacuate the building. After they let us back into the building, do you think that we were able to get thousands of young people back to sleep? No!
Day Three: Turin - Youth Rally/ Pilgrimage; Walking Several miles through Turin to venerate the real Shroud of Turin. In the long photo below, you see what the twelve foot shroud looks like to the naked eye. The two pictures above are the negatives of parts of the shroud. I have to pinch myself that I am looking at the burial cloth of Jesus mentioned in the scriptures. The cathedral is absolutely beautiful. I wish that I had realized it at the time, but one of my favorite saints is buried in the cathedral: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.
In the middle of the night, all the skylight windows running along the top of the building either opened or closed all at the same time. It sounded like a bomb went off! After the previous night, we thought it was a bomb! It woke up thousands of young people and adults. We panicked not knowing what it was! Do you think that we were able to get thousands of young people back to sleep? No!
Day Four: Turin - Youth Rally and Mass. At each Rally, teens from around the world stopped by Turin on their way to Rome. We heard speakers like Father Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap. who is the preacher to the pope. Ralph Martin who is an International Catholic evangelist. Sister Ann Shields who is an International Catholic evangelist.
Youth Arise is asked by the Vatican to provide 100 young people for the opening ceremonies on St Peter's Square! Andrew, one of my teens, volunteers! The group is going to have to take buses down to Rome, and leave at 2 am so that they can practice on St Peter's Square. The rest of the group needed to pack up so we could take buses at 4 am! No sleep tonight!
Day Five: - Turin/Rome. Eight hour bus ride to Rome along the west coast of Italy! It was absolutely awesome! We drove right by Pisa. I had a hard time staying awake. Ate box lunches and some of food was moldy. Arrived in Rome late afternoon. Found Andrew. By the time we are setup in this convention center, it is dinner time. Where do you find food for a large group of people on a Sunday night in Rome? We are in the southern part of the city 'outside the walls'. We decided that our best bet was around St John Lateran Basilica. We implemented my travel plan, but the bus was so empty that we got on the same bus. We got off the bus at the Basilica and this huge Square. There is a Baptistery that is larger than our church! We walked around the corner and I am amazed. What I thought was the front of the Basilica is actually the back! It opens up to this huge huge Square. I take a head count, and we are missing an adult leader! I don't know how it happened, but she made it back to our complex! We found a restaurant open! Teens found out that pizza in Rome is not the same as Chicago. Paper thin crust. When you order a pizza with everything, you get one of everything!
Day Six: Rome - Free Day
I already have some people not feeling well. Adults and some teens have to stay back at our complex. The complex is like a mini-McCormick place. It has about a dozen smaller exhibition buildings with pavement separating each building. We are housed in two of the largest ones with people from all over the world. Row upon row of cots and sleeping bags. They are not air conditioned and it is the hottest week of the summer. I am using a blow up mattress that has decided to leak. So, I pump it up every night, and end up on the ground every morning. The females are in one building and the males are in the building to the north of it. I gave instructions when hanging outside to stay between our two buildings. Of course, one evening I am patrolling the grounds, and I find two of our teens kissing in the darkness between two other buildings. I won't say who it was, but the boy had darker skin and was bald!
I hang out with one of my groups that visited one of the smaller catacombs. They are dark and damp. It is creepy and powerful all in the same moment. To stand in the places of the early church and the martyrs. To see their burial places. To stand in the rooms where they had Mass in secret underground. To see early church artwork on the walls. It is amazing!
Day Seven: Rome - Opening ceremonies
This is one of the longest, craziest, but most awesome days of the pilgrimage. I found out that they are taking the hundred teens to the Vatican not on our coach buses, but via the subway! The same subway that a half million will be using to get to the same spot! A hundred teens that they don't know! I decided that I would go along with the group to make sure Andrew arrived at the Vatican. I came up with a meeting spot with the rest of the group. They have the flag and pole so I should be able to find them. It is a good thing that I went with Andrew because the back half of the group would have boarded the subway going the wrong way!
After dropping off Andrew at a security gate, I then had to wait for hours. If you look at a picture of St Peter's Square, you will see an obelisk. Andrew and the group danced in a big circle around it. I waited at a barrier right by a flowing water fountain to the north of the Obelisk. I didn't know it, but for some reason the security staff confiscated our flag pole. So, I didn't find our group until the whole event was over. The group was split into two groups. One group got a great location near the pope. The other group was near our meeting spot just south of the obelisk. Since I couldn't find them, I stayed close to the barrier so that I didn't lose Andrew. The best of the day: I was within a few feet of John Paul II as he rode by in the popemobile!! Andrew was right in front of me the whole time. It was terribly hot in the direct sun and I probably waited at least six hours. The event was awesome! To be in a crowd of a half million excited Catholic young people was very uplifting. To be present and listen to a saint speak, it doesn't get any better. The theme of the week was the incarnation. God humbled himself and took on our humanity.
From Pope John Paul II:
"I chose as the theme for your 15th World Day the lapidary phrase with which Saint John the Apostle describes the profound mystery of God made man:“The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). What distinguishes the Christian faith from all other religions, is the certainty that the man Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, the Word made flesh, the second person of the Trinity who came into the world. “Such is the joyous conviction of the Church from her beginning, whenever she sings 'the mystery of our religion': 'He was manifested in the flesh'” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 463). God, the invisible one is alive and present in the person of Jesus, Son of Mary, the Theotokos, Mother of God. Jesus of Nazareth is God with us, Emmanuel: he who knows Him knows God, he who sees Him sees God, he who follows Him follows God, he who unites himself with Him is united with God (cfr Jn 12:44-50). In Jesus, born in Bethlehem, God embraces the human condition, making himself accessible, establishing a covenant with mankind".
After the Opening Ceremonies were over and the sea of people departed, I was able to find Andrew and the two groups. It was late and I had a bunch of hungry people! McDonalds came through for us. There was one only a couple of blocks from the Vatican. We sent a few people with money to buy thirty hamburgers. It was then that I found out that earlier in the day one of my adult leaders collapsed. They had to call an ambulance for her. Praise God! They were able to just take her back to our complex. The oppressive heat can take its toll pretty fast. She would struggle the rest of the trip.
Houston we have a problem! We didn't know that the bus system changed after 10 pm. The bus routes that we used to get to the Vatican no longer existed. If it wasn't for an English speaking Italian teen (an angel?), we would have never made it back to our complex. We did not get back till close to 3am!
Day Eight: Rome - Mass on Circus Maximus/ Pilgrimage to St Peter's and the Holy Doors/Lifeteen Prayer Youth Rally and Adoration at the Spanish Steps
Today, we started another long day with Mass with an Archbishop from Poland on the grounds of the Circus Maximus. The Circus Maximus was used for chariot races using Christians as human torches. It was a profound experience to celebrate a Mass on the site where so many Christians were martyred for our faith.
We departed the Mass and most of the group did a walking pilgrimage through the streets of Rome to St Peter's. At St Peter's, They walked through the Holy Doors. Many members of our group went to confession at St Peter's. One of my adult leaders wasn't feeling well, but she really wanted to make it to St Peter's. So, I went with her and we took public transportation. We attempted to get as close as we could. It still was a long walk. She struggled, but we made it. We found the rest of the group.
Later in the day, we made our way over to the Piazza in front of the Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps is a prime hangout spot for teens in Rome. So, it made for a good spot for a huge Youth Rally including adoration of the Blessed Sacrament! Picture thousands of teens on their knees on the cobblestone in a big Rome Piazza. It was quite something to behold! I was wondering what the Roman teens were thinking as they watched from the steps.
Day Nine: Rome - Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel
We had to get up at 6 am so that we could get in a line and wait for hours. Do you know that Italians don't believe in lines!? Whole buses of people would stop and get out and budge into the middle of the line! We finally made it into the Museum, and I bought group tickets. I hand them out and one of my groups is missing. I assume that they missed the instructions to head to the group window. It took me a half hour to find them. The Museum and Chapel were outstanding. Room after room of church artifacts (chalices, stoles, vestments, crosses, and paintings) dating back hundreds if not over thousand years. Popes and saints. I wanted to pinch myself that I was in the room where they pick the pope. Huge beautiful tapestries.
In the afternoon, I hung out with a group of guys and we the mistake of eating at restaurant next to the Vatican. Five personal pizzas and six cokes for seventy dollars!! Each coke cost five dollars! We stop by some of the stores near St Peter's Square.
To give you an indication of how crazy the crowds were during this week, let me share a story from this day. I am with five really big guys including my adult leader who is bigger than me. We are about to get on the bus to get back to our complex. By this day, we know exactly where the door will open. We are first in line. The bus arrives. The door opens, and the crowd surges forward. I am using all my strength not to be swept aside. We are the last people to get on the bus. We have to squeeze on.
Rome has pick pocketers. We are on a crowded bus and a guy reaches into my leaders purse right in front of us. One of my adult leaders is a sheriff, he catches him doing it. In front of the major churches and other attractions, you will see women holding babies. They work with a partner. The woman would walk by you and make it look like she is going to drop the baby. While you bend over to catch the baby, the partner picks you. One of my teens wanted to see what would happen, so he put a wallet in his back pocket with nothing in it. Sure enough by the end of the day, it was gone.
Day Ten: Rome - Roman ruins/Colosseum/St Mary Major
Day Eleven: Rome - Pilgrimage /Prayer vigil with pope
Part of the World Youth Day experience is a prayer vigil and Mass with the Holy Father. They expect two million young people from all over the world. It will be on the grounds of Tor Vergata University. Part of the World Youth Day experience is a ten mile pilgrimage to the site. Another part of the experience is sleeping out under the stars with two million young people from all over the world! So, we have to pack enough stuff to sleep outside and carry it ten miles. It is the hottest week of the summer in Rome, so I stuff my rolling duffel bag with as much water as I can carry. I don't know how much water that they will have at the site. It is something other youth ministers warned me about from other World Youth Days. The sick people from our group was bused to the main entrance and they were supposed to find us! But, they never did. This was before the age of pocket cell phones! I went looking for them, but it was impossible to find them in such a massive crowd.
We are in the blue zone and in section one. Totally Awesome!! According to the map, we are in the section front right by the Papal Altar! Look at the picture below. The blue zone is in low left corner and it is right in front. But, there is a four lane road, and a bunch of grass between us and the Papal Altar!! Do you see which way the altar is facing? Away from us. Plus, there is a wall on the back of the altar, so thank goodness for jumbo trons! The road in front of us was a huge bonus because the Holy Father used it to go back and forth each day to get to the Papal Altar! Our teens had a close encounter with the Holy Father four times!
The first spot that we chose was right in front of the zone, but they had these water sprinklers going to keep people cool. We discovered that the water was heading right for us! We found a better spot where we could see the jumbo tron better. We set up camp. The second picture below gives you an idea what that looked like. This is where we stayed for the next twenty four hours! The prayer vigil started about seven in the evening with music, dancing, prayer, and a talk from the Holy Father. One of the cool moments came when a young man ran up to the pope. The security was about to pounce on him, but the pope waved them away! So, this young man has a private conversation with the Holy Father in front of two million young people. As always with the Holy Father and young people, chants of "J P Two! We love you!!" rang out. He responded "I Love You More!!".
“One man has died for all” (2 Cor 5:14): Christ “gave himself up in our place as a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God” (Eph
5:2). Behind the death of Jesus there is a plan of love, which the
faith of the Church calls the “mystery of the redemption”: the whole of
humanity is redeemed, that is, set free from the slavery of sin and led
into the kingdom of God. Christ is Lord of heaven and earth. Whoever
listens to his word and believes in the Father, who sent him, has
eternal life (cfr Jn 5:25). He is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn 1:29.36), the high priest who, having suffered like us, is able to share our infirmity (cfr Heb
4:14 ) and “made perfect” through the painful experience of the Cross,
becomes “for all who obey him, the source of eternal salvation” (Heb 5:9). Pope John Paul II
Day Twelve: Rome - Papal Mass
The Holy Father came back in the morning, and Mass started about ten. The Mass with the Holy Father is always so powerful even though you can't understand the words. I had the teens bring an AM radio and there was a frequency broadcasting an English translation. Plus, we had prayer books with the Mass and prayer vigil in English.
"Young people of every continent, do not be afraid to be the saints of the new millennium! Be contemplative, love prayer; be coherent with your faith and generous in the service of your brothers and sisters, be active members of the Church and builders of peace. To succeed in this demanding project of life, continue to listen to His Word, draw strength from the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Penance. The Lord wants you to be intrepid apostles of his Gospel and builders of a new humanity. In fact, how could you say you believe in God made man without taking a firm position against all that destroys the human person and the family? If you believe that Christ has revealed the Father’s love for every person, you cannot fail to strive to contribute to the building of a new world, founded on the power of love and forgiveness, on the struggle against injustice and all physical, moral and spiritual distress, on the orientation of politics, economy, culture and technology to the service of man and his integral development." Pope John Paul II
Day Thirteen: Rome/Chicago - Flight Home
We saw Luc Longley from the Chicago Bulls in the Rome Airport! I think that he was shocked to be recognized in Rome. We were on the last plane flight of Tower Airlines! Every thing was uneventful getting to Atlanta. I called Jan to tell her that we made it back to the USA without anyone going to the hospital! Big Mistake!! On our flight to Chicago, one of my teens had a seizure on the plane! We had to have an ambulance meet us at the plane in Chicago. Thanks be to God that he eventually was ok. It took awhile for him to recover.
We made it back to Holy Angels Parish! Up until now, it was the hardest thing that I ever did. It was a life changing trip! I would do three more World Youth Day Pilgrimages.
After talking with youth ministers who attended World Youth Day Denver in 1993, I wanted one adult for every four teens. God provided more than enough adults. They were expecting two million people to attend. In order to safely travel in such large crowds, each adult would keep tabs on their four teens. Because I had to ensure that I had everyone at every stop, it sped up role call. Instead of reading off thirty two names, I only had to check with eight people. When using public transportation and over crowded buses, it is much easier traveling in smaller groups. I did not assign myself a group which allowed me time for planning and hanging out with a different group each day. It also gave me flexibility for sickness of teens or leaders. We had people sick every day of this trip! We had a flag on a long collapsible pole which we would use any time that our group would be walking in large crowds.
We were traveling with a national youth program called Life Teen. At the time, we were a Life Teen parish. Life Teen planned the trip through an international youth organization called Youth Arise. They contracted two 747 to take about thousand young people to World Youth Day Rome. One plane would take off from Phoenix and one plane would take off from Chicago with a stop in Atlanta to pick up more passengers. The trip would be fourteen days covering Turin and Rome. We would fly to Milan and take a bus to Turin. We would be staying in simple housing which is part of the World Youth Day experience. For us, we will be sleeping on the floor of convention centers with thousands of other pilgrims from around the world. Our showers would be outside using water piped in from natural springs underground. In other words, it will be the coldest water that I have ever experienced!! I could not stand under the water for more than a couple of seconds! I am not exaggerating! Our toilets for next fourteen days would be port-a-potties. It will be one of hottest times of the year in Rome, and we will have no air conditioning.
Houston, we have a problem! We were scheduled to be on a United Airlines charter. I reserved a bus to take us to O'Hare Airport and drop us off. During the week, I received strange instructions from Life Teen not to go to the International Terminal, but have the bus go to this special entrance/gate. As we are boarding the bus, a parent is checking flight times on the airport website. There is no United flight scheduled to Atlanta or Milan at our scheduled time. I don't have time to think about it. We have to get to the airport. We get to the airport and the bus enters through this entrance with a security gate. Our bus is directed onto the tarmac and directed to a line of other buses! This is not part of the plan! I don't see a plane! Our bus is supposed to just drop us off! We sat there and waited. Waited! And waited! No one with any authority is around just a line of buses! I have no idea what is going on. An hour goes by. Nothing. My bus driver is supposed to be back so he can drive another group to Springfield. Another hour goes by. Finally, someone shows up and tells us that the plane is late coming from New York. It doesn't come for two more hours! Finally, I see this enormous plane coming towards us. It is not United Airlines. It is Tower Airlines and the paint is peeling off the plane! I think to myself: "We are taking this plane across the ocean!"
We pick up more youth and adults in Atlanta. We fly to Milan. I am the first one at the baggage claim. Houston, we have a problem! I notice that some of the luggage is wet! It has a blue tint to it! It smells like a toilet. One of the plane's toilets leaked all over luggage! There were 20+ people impacted! We take buses to Turin, and a Fiat convention center. We finally arrived at our destination almost 24 hours after we left Holy Angels! It is a huge convention center that will house thousands of young people. We will have daily youth rallies including a pilgrimage through the streets of Turin. Because it is the Jubilee year, we will see the real Shroud of Turin. It is only the fifth public display of the Shroud since 1898. Several people from my group were able to visit the Mother house of the Salesian order and are able to see several incorruptible saints including St John Bosco.
The devil is real! Over the years, anytime that I have had a program (retreat, camp, conferences), where teens could be greatly impacted, the devil attempted to muck things up. This pilgrimage will change the lives of everyone including the adults. When I arrived in Turin, I was told by Youth Arise that the plane was messed up because the original travel agent left town. He stole the $50,000 deposit for the United planes so a week before we supposed to leave we have no planes! We were only able to charter planes from Tower Airlines because they were bankrupt. On the way home, we will be on the last plane flight of Tower Airlines! I also found out that Turin is known as "The Devil's City" because of the amount of satanic activity. Let me give you highlights of the rest of the trip and you decide:
Day Two: Turin -Youth Rally. Someone sneaks into the back of the building at 3 am and tries to burn the building down by lighting a big industrial garbage can on fire! The building fills up with black smoke. We evacuate the building. After they let us back into the building, do you think that we were able to get thousands of young people back to sleep? No!
Day Three: Turin - Youth Rally/ Pilgrimage; Walking Several miles through Turin to venerate the real Shroud of Turin. In the long photo below, you see what the twelve foot shroud looks like to the naked eye. The two pictures above are the negatives of parts of the shroud. I have to pinch myself that I am looking at the burial cloth of Jesus mentioned in the scriptures. The cathedral is absolutely beautiful. I wish that I had realized it at the time, but one of my favorite saints is buried in the cathedral: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.
In the middle of the night, all the skylight windows running along the top of the building either opened or closed all at the same time. It sounded like a bomb went off! After the previous night, we thought it was a bomb! It woke up thousands of young people and adults. We panicked not knowing what it was! Do you think that we were able to get thousands of young people back to sleep? No!
Day Four: Turin - Youth Rally and Mass. At each Rally, teens from around the world stopped by Turin on their way to Rome. We heard speakers like Father Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap. who is the preacher to the pope. Ralph Martin who is an International Catholic evangelist. Sister Ann Shields who is an International Catholic evangelist.
Youth Arise is asked by the Vatican to provide 100 young people for the opening ceremonies on St Peter's Square! Andrew, one of my teens, volunteers! The group is going to have to take buses down to Rome, and leave at 2 am so that they can practice on St Peter's Square. The rest of the group needed to pack up so we could take buses at 4 am! No sleep tonight!
Day Five: - Turin/Rome. Eight hour bus ride to Rome along the west coast of Italy! It was absolutely awesome! We drove right by Pisa. I had a hard time staying awake. Ate box lunches and some of food was moldy. Arrived in Rome late afternoon. Found Andrew. By the time we are setup in this convention center, it is dinner time. Where do you find food for a large group of people on a Sunday night in Rome? We are in the southern part of the city 'outside the walls'. We decided that our best bet was around St John Lateran Basilica. We implemented my travel plan, but the bus was so empty that we got on the same bus. We got off the bus at the Basilica and this huge Square. There is a Baptistery that is larger than our church! We walked around the corner and I am amazed. What I thought was the front of the Basilica is actually the back! It opens up to this huge huge Square. I take a head count, and we are missing an adult leader! I don't know how it happened, but she made it back to our complex! We found a restaurant open! Teens found out that pizza in Rome is not the same as Chicago. Paper thin crust. When you order a pizza with everything, you get one of everything!
Day Six: Rome - Free Day
I already have some people not feeling well. Adults and some teens have to stay back at our complex. The complex is like a mini-McCormick place. It has about a dozen smaller exhibition buildings with pavement separating each building. We are housed in two of the largest ones with people from all over the world. Row upon row of cots and sleeping bags. They are not air conditioned and it is the hottest week of the summer. I am using a blow up mattress that has decided to leak. So, I pump it up every night, and end up on the ground every morning. The females are in one building and the males are in the building to the north of it. I gave instructions when hanging outside to stay between our two buildings. Of course, one evening I am patrolling the grounds, and I find two of our teens kissing in the darkness between two other buildings. I won't say who it was, but the boy had darker skin and was bald!
I hang out with one of my groups that visited one of the smaller catacombs. They are dark and damp. It is creepy and powerful all in the same moment. To stand in the places of the early church and the martyrs. To see their burial places. To stand in the rooms where they had Mass in secret underground. To see early church artwork on the walls. It is amazing!
Day Seven: Rome - Opening ceremonies
After dropping off Andrew at a security gate, I then had to wait for hours. If you look at a picture of St Peter's Square, you will see an obelisk. Andrew and the group danced in a big circle around it. I waited at a barrier right by a flowing water fountain to the north of the Obelisk. I didn't know it, but for some reason the security staff confiscated our flag pole. So, I didn't find our group until the whole event was over. The group was split into two groups. One group got a great location near the pope. The other group was near our meeting spot just south of the obelisk. Since I couldn't find them, I stayed close to the barrier so that I didn't lose Andrew. The best of the day: I was within a few feet of John Paul II as he rode by in the popemobile!! Andrew was right in front of me the whole time. It was terribly hot in the direct sun and I probably waited at least six hours. The event was awesome! To be in a crowd of a half million excited Catholic young people was very uplifting. To be present and listen to a saint speak, it doesn't get any better. The theme of the week was the incarnation. God humbled himself and took on our humanity.
From Pope John Paul II:
"I chose as the theme for your 15th World Day the lapidary phrase with which Saint John the Apostle describes the profound mystery of God made man:“The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). What distinguishes the Christian faith from all other religions, is the certainty that the man Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, the Word made flesh, the second person of the Trinity who came into the world. “Such is the joyous conviction of the Church from her beginning, whenever she sings 'the mystery of our religion': 'He was manifested in the flesh'” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 463). God, the invisible one is alive and present in the person of Jesus, Son of Mary, the Theotokos, Mother of God. Jesus of Nazareth is God with us, Emmanuel: he who knows Him knows God, he who sees Him sees God, he who follows Him follows God, he who unites himself with Him is united with God (cfr Jn 12:44-50). In Jesus, born in Bethlehem, God embraces the human condition, making himself accessible, establishing a covenant with mankind".
After the Opening Ceremonies were over and the sea of people departed, I was able to find Andrew and the two groups. It was late and I had a bunch of hungry people! McDonalds came through for us. There was one only a couple of blocks from the Vatican. We sent a few people with money to buy thirty hamburgers. It was then that I found out that earlier in the day one of my adult leaders collapsed. They had to call an ambulance for her. Praise God! They were able to just take her back to our complex. The oppressive heat can take its toll pretty fast. She would struggle the rest of the trip.
Houston we have a problem! We didn't know that the bus system changed after 10 pm. The bus routes that we used to get to the Vatican no longer existed. If it wasn't for an English speaking Italian teen (an angel?), we would have never made it back to our complex. We did not get back till close to 3am!
Day Eight: Rome - Mass on Circus Maximus/ Pilgrimage to St Peter's and the Holy Doors/Lifeteen Prayer Youth Rally and Adoration at the Spanish Steps
Today, we started another long day with Mass with an Archbishop from Poland on the grounds of the Circus Maximus. The Circus Maximus was used for chariot races using Christians as human torches. It was a profound experience to celebrate a Mass on the site where so many Christians were martyred for our faith.
We departed the Mass and most of the group did a walking pilgrimage through the streets of Rome to St Peter's. At St Peter's, They walked through the Holy Doors. Many members of our group went to confession at St Peter's. One of my adult leaders wasn't feeling well, but she really wanted to make it to St Peter's. So, I went with her and we took public transportation. We attempted to get as close as we could. It still was a long walk. She struggled, but we made it. We found the rest of the group.
Later in the day, we made our way over to the Piazza in front of the Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps is a prime hangout spot for teens in Rome. So, it made for a good spot for a huge Youth Rally including adoration of the Blessed Sacrament! Picture thousands of teens on their knees on the cobblestone in a big Rome Piazza. It was quite something to behold! I was wondering what the Roman teens were thinking as they watched from the steps.
Day Nine: Rome - Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel
We had to get up at 6 am so that we could get in a line and wait for hours. Do you know that Italians don't believe in lines!? Whole buses of people would stop and get out and budge into the middle of the line! We finally made it into the Museum, and I bought group tickets. I hand them out and one of my groups is missing. I assume that they missed the instructions to head to the group window. It took me a half hour to find them. The Museum and Chapel were outstanding. Room after room of church artifacts (chalices, stoles, vestments, crosses, and paintings) dating back hundreds if not over thousand years. Popes and saints. I wanted to pinch myself that I was in the room where they pick the pope. Huge beautiful tapestries.
To give you an indication of how crazy the crowds were during this week, let me share a story from this day. I am with five really big guys including my adult leader who is bigger than me. We are about to get on the bus to get back to our complex. By this day, we know exactly where the door will open. We are first in line. The bus arrives. The door opens, and the crowd surges forward. I am using all my strength not to be swept aside. We are the last people to get on the bus. We have to squeeze on.
Rome has pick pocketers. We are on a crowded bus and a guy reaches into my leaders purse right in front of us. One of my adult leaders is a sheriff, he catches him doing it. In front of the major churches and other attractions, you will see women holding babies. They work with a partner. The woman would walk by you and make it look like she is going to drop the baby. While you bend over to catch the baby, the partner picks you. One of my teens wanted to see what would happen, so he put a wallet in his back pocket with nothing in it. Sure enough by the end of the day, it was gone.
Day Ten: Rome - Roman ruins/Colosseum/St Mary Major
Day Eleven: Rome - Pilgrimage /Prayer vigil with pope
Part of the World Youth Day experience is a prayer vigil and Mass with the Holy Father. They expect two million young people from all over the world. It will be on the grounds of Tor Vergata University. Part of the World Youth Day experience is a ten mile pilgrimage to the site. Another part of the experience is sleeping out under the stars with two million young people from all over the world! So, we have to pack enough stuff to sleep outside and carry it ten miles. It is the hottest week of the summer in Rome, so I stuff my rolling duffel bag with as much water as I can carry. I don't know how much water that they will have at the site. It is something other youth ministers warned me about from other World Youth Days. The sick people from our group was bused to the main entrance and they were supposed to find us! But, they never did. This was before the age of pocket cell phones! I went looking for them, but it was impossible to find them in such a massive crowd.
We are in the blue zone and in section one. Totally Awesome!! According to the map, we are in the section front right by the Papal Altar! Look at the picture below. The blue zone is in low left corner and it is right in front. But, there is a four lane road, and a bunch of grass between us and the Papal Altar!! Do you see which way the altar is facing? Away from us. Plus, there is a wall on the back of the altar, so thank goodness for jumbo trons! The road in front of us was a huge bonus because the Holy Father used it to go back and forth each day to get to the Papal Altar! Our teens had a close encounter with the Holy Father four times!
The first spot that we chose was right in front of the zone, but they had these water sprinklers going to keep people cool. We discovered that the water was heading right for us! We found a better spot where we could see the jumbo tron better. We set up camp. The second picture below gives you an idea what that looked like. This is where we stayed for the next twenty four hours! The prayer vigil started about seven in the evening with music, dancing, prayer, and a talk from the Holy Father. One of the cool moments came when a young man ran up to the pope. The security was about to pounce on him, but the pope waved them away! So, this young man has a private conversation with the Holy Father in front of two million young people. As always with the Holy Father and young people, chants of "J P Two! We love you!!" rang out. He responded "I Love You More!!".
Day Twelve: Rome - Papal Mass
The Holy Father came back in the morning, and Mass started about ten. The Mass with the Holy Father is always so powerful even though you can't understand the words. I had the teens bring an AM radio and there was a frequency broadcasting an English translation. Plus, we had prayer books with the Mass and prayer vigil in English.
"Young people of every continent, do not be afraid to be the saints of the new millennium! Be contemplative, love prayer; be coherent with your faith and generous in the service of your brothers and sisters, be active members of the Church and builders of peace. To succeed in this demanding project of life, continue to listen to His Word, draw strength from the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Penance. The Lord wants you to be intrepid apostles of his Gospel and builders of a new humanity. In fact, how could you say you believe in God made man without taking a firm position against all that destroys the human person and the family? If you believe that Christ has revealed the Father’s love for every person, you cannot fail to strive to contribute to the building of a new world, founded on the power of love and forgiveness, on the struggle against injustice and all physical, moral and spiritual distress, on the orientation of politics, economy, culture and technology to the service of man and his integral development." Pope John Paul II
Day Thirteen: Rome/Chicago - Flight Home
We saw Luc Longley from the Chicago Bulls in the Rome Airport! I think that he was shocked to be recognized in Rome. We were on the last plane flight of Tower Airlines! Every thing was uneventful getting to Atlanta. I called Jan to tell her that we made it back to the USA without anyone going to the hospital! Big Mistake!! On our flight to Chicago, one of my teens had a seizure on the plane! We had to have an ambulance meet us at the plane in Chicago. Thanks be to God that he eventually was ok. It took awhile for him to recover.
We made it back to Holy Angels Parish! Up until now, it was the hardest thing that I ever did. It was a life changing trip! I would do three more World Youth Day Pilgrimages.
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