"Blessed are the merciful, they shall be shown mercy" was the theme of July’s World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland which I was blessed to attend with a group of pilgrims from our Archdiocese. Our group included students, young adults, and an assortment of priests and lay leaders. We and nearly 2 million other pilgrims from 187 countries gathered to pray with the Pope, celebrate the Year of Mercy and delve deeper into our Catholic Faith and the Way of the Lord Jesus.
World Youth Days were started by Pope John Paul II, so it was an added grace to be in his hometown where as the young Karol Wojtyla he served as priest and bishop. His spirit hovered throughout the city of Krakow, also the place where the Divine Mercy visions of Our Lord were manifest to St. Faustina. We were able to imbibe more deeply of this spirituality of Mercy which has caught fire throughout the world.
Our group stayed at a college campus close to the events. While there I ran into Jesuits from the USA and some former students. Day One was the Welcoming Ceremony Mass which has the feel of the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. A colorful array of hundreds of world flags waved in a sea of worshipers in the central Blonia Park. The celebrant was Cardinal Dziwisz, the Cardinal of Krakow. The beloved Cardinal
opened World Youth Day by inviting everyone to pay attention to the Holy Spirit and the vocation each one is called to follow. He said to look around and see what John Paul's vocation brought about as he gazed at hundreds of thousands at Mass on a beautiful summer evening.
Day Two began a three day of cycle of catechesis and formation. We were assigned to the Mercy Center along with 20,000 other English-speaking pilgrims. Each day we received teaching from the Bishops around the world, and we celebrated Mass with them. Day Three brought Pope Francis to town, and the streets and parks were lined with pilgrims to welcome him. He gave a spirited address to the vast crowd of youth, encouraging them to avoid being couch potatoes who were addicted to their phones. "Get out there and share the Good News of God's Mercy," was his constant theme throughout the week. Day Four included a city-wide Way of the Cross that was staged by Polish performing artists, musicians, choirs and dramatists. It was extremely moving. I was fortunate enough to end up in the front row just in front of the Pope for the Stations of the Cross. I could see him pray with great intensity and encouragement for all his faithful young people united with Jesus and with His Vicar, Pope Francis.
The next day we walked ten miles outside of town to another vast field for the Saturday Night Vigil with the Pope and the closing Sunday Mass. We slept out in sleeping bags on Saturday. The next morning I joined nearly 20,000 priests as a concelebrant for the nearly 3 million people who attended the final Mass. It was a glorious finish to an amazing week of grace, mercy and blessings. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to have attended World Youth Day. It was the seventh one I have attended and I would say it ranks as the very best. There was a great spiritual depth to the whole experience. The Polish people were extremely well-organized, prepared and friendly which made the days go so well and allowed the pilgrims to experience the joy of being together in the universal Church. At the final blessing Pope Francis announced Panama as the next host country for World Youth Day in 2019. Anyone from St Francis Xavier care to attend?
Matthew Gamber, SJ, Associate Pastor