Saturday, July 19th - Sunday, July 20th, 2008

On July 19th and 20th, youth from St Paul, Resurrection and St William of York, enjoyed World Youth Day. The trip to Sydney Australia was too expensive for many of our area youth, so we created our own 'World Youth Day - Ellicott City Style!" At World Youth Day (WYD), youth and young adults from around the world come together to celebrate being a vibrant part of the Catholic Church, and celebrate the sacred Liturgy with the Pope. WYD includes walking, as pilgrims, to the Papal Mass.

For our local WYD, eleven youth and five adults met at St Paul Church in Ellicott City at 2PM on 19 July. Recalling that Pope Benedict proclaimed this the year of St Paul, pilgrims reflected on the journey (physically and spiritually) made by St Paul 2000 years ago. Each pilgrim received a blessed Calvert Cross, a WYD backpack, a hat, a wooden cross, Archbaltimorain bandana, and prayer card of Pope Benedict. The Calvert Cross and hat are the same as the cross and hat that delegates from the Archdiocese of Baltimore received before they departed for WYD in Australia.

Our 'local WYD' included all the components of a 'real WYD', including praying, walking, and eating! Pilgrims departed St Paul church and walked to Our Lady's Center, where they prayed the Stations of the Cross. After a short rest, and plenty of water, the pilgrims continued their journey, down Rogers Ave to Frederick Road and stopped at St John Episcopal Church. At ST John's the youth were welcomed by "Mr. Dan", and delighted in cold watermelon and an assortment of cookies and drinks. At this stop, Mr. James Boric, a seminarian, who walked with us, shared his journey of hearing and following God's call.

The pilgrims then continued down Frederick road, turning right on N. Chatman, and arrived at Resurrection around 6:00 PM. After plenty of water, pilgrims rode (and gratefully so!) to the night location, a St Paul parishioner’s yard. Another 'real youth day’ event is sharing in the ‘local food’ of the host country. The pilgrims evening meal consisted of ‘pumpkin soup, bread, trail mix and joey juice for six’. At WYD, pilgrims must gather in groups of six, designated by ‘meal tickets’ and one person goes to the food line while the other wait for the long desired meal. While the soup was ‘tasty’ pilgrims seemed satisfied with one bowl.

Then, the big event, the reason for the many prayerful miles. With a large outdoor screen in place, and a cable connection to the EWTN station, pilgrims gathered on blankets to share with the 300,000 other Catholics in Sydney at the Papal Mass. For the next two hours, the local pilgrims were fascinated in being part of the ‘larger church’.

After the Mass, pilgrims were treated to some WYD barbeque – the hotdogs and hamburgers quickly disappeared (real American food…at 11PM – teenagers!). The final special local WYD event was held at midnight, as pilgrims prayed a living Rosary. As each pilgrim led the group in a Hail Mary, they received a glow stick. By the end of the Rosary, the entire filed was lit with glowing red, white and blue glow necklaces.

The next 6 hours consisted of chatter, finding a comfortable spot on the ground, and finally some sleep in the open field. When asked their feelings about WYD – Ellicott City style, many youth described the event with these words: “It was long, hot, tiring, but it was also exciting, the food was ‘interesting’, and the Pope Mass was worth every step of the long, hot, tiring journey….. Well done, pilgrims, well done!

Photos

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