Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
July 31, 2002
Postcards from World Youth Day 2002
Members of a World Youth Day group from the Archdiocese of Denver sponsored by the Community of the Beatitudes, comprised of lay people, religious and clergy who live in community, and the Frassati Society, a young adult outdoor group, kept a journal of their two-week trip to Ontario, Canada, to culminate with WYD Aug. 23-28. Selected entries follow.
By Gina M. Vick and Katie Orth
Aug. 16, Day 1: Pretzels? For dinner?
Pilgrimage? Why must we travel over a thousand miles to satisfy the deep hunger for a deeper relationship with our God? Who will we meet on this journey? What will we learn?
We 35 pilgrims arrive at St. Leo's parish in Buffalo, N.Y., at 1 a.m. into the loving arms of Lauren Migliore. On this, our first night, we all seem to be filled with excitement as well as a touch of fear of the unknown. Our stomachs are empty and our hearts are yearning for God.
Aug. 17, Day 2: What's so hard about a pilgrimage?
A good night's rest and delicious breakfast following Mass have many of us asking "So what's so hard about a pilgrimage anyway?" After breakfast we pile into the bus.
Canada here we come! Our first stop crossing the Canadian border is Niagara Falls. When we arrive our voices seem to instinctively raise up in praise of God. The African drum we have brought along for the journey seems to unite with the thundering waters of the great waterfall.
It is hot as we load the school bus and continue our journey. The bus trip is filled with the pulsating sound of the guitar, African drum and voices singing the praises of our God. It is a time of joy and fellowship.
We arrive at St. Mary's of the Assumption Parish where we are greeted at the door with a delicious dinner. The room is filled with the sound of many languages and above the noise rises the sound of the Zulu people singing the praises of God. Could this be a glimpse of heaven?
Aug. 20, Day 5: Is it better to give than to receive?
With so many people doing so much for us on this pilgrimage, what can we do for them? Fortunately, today is all about service, so we can begin to repay their kindness. We start with St. Mary's Parish, whose congregation has been caring for us by opening their
homes, hearts and lives to us. They have been preparing all year for our visit. How can a single day of service repay them?
Out of bed and to the old St. Mary's Cemetery, where we become weed whackers, tree pruners
and fence painters for God. After a few hours, the cemetery grounds are looking much tidier and we are ready for lunch. After lunch, we split into two crews: one will help
build a new station for the parish's outdoor Stations of the Cross, the other will visit nearby nursing homes.
By the time the two groups come back together to share our stories of the day, it is time for an evening Mass and a delicious outdoor pig roast followed by our own international soccer match and Jewish dancing. Finally, we depart to our host families' homes to fall into bed feeling satisfied with the day of good work fresh in our minds.
Aug. 22, Day 7: My turn!
Other Denver pilgrims arrive at the Denver International Airport to trace our footsteps from Denver to Kansas City to Chicago to Buffalo. Those of us already in Canada pile into buses with all our newfound friends and head to Petersborough for a final Mass in the Petersborough diocese. There we get a taste of what's to come. We who seem so large with around 300 pilgrims in various groups are a drop in the bucket compared with all the pilgrims Petersborough has been hosting through Days in the Diocese.
We safely arrive in Toronto to settle in at St. Brendan's School in Scarborough. There are no host families on this leg of the pilgrimage. We from the Denver Frassati group are all together in this one school, along with the greater Community of the Beatitudes group. There are two sinks for around 200
women, another two sinks for around 200 men, and three outdoor showers for us all. We make our beds on cold classroom floors. The group traveling from Denver don't
arrive at their school in Buffalo until 2 a.m.
Aug. 23, Day 8: We made it!
We go to the opening Mass. It's a mob scene. We melt into tens of thousands of pilgrims. Archbishop
Charles Chaput sits with the bishops on stage. Cardinal J. Francis Stafford addresses us. Hordes of priests from uncountable nations stand in the wings concelebrating. We stand through the Mass in the hot sun, or we sit on the hot pavement in the hot sun. We ignore that. It's a beautiful Mass and we can't believe we've really made it here
— or that we are standing side by side with the second group to travel to us from Denver! They arrived
early in the afternoon, just in time to get to Mass with us. Now our group is complete — 77 Frassati pilgrims representing Colorado amongst some 1,200 total Coloradans, some 50,000 total Americans, some 350,000 total pilgrims.
Editor's note: More than 800,000 attended the final WYD Mass July 28.
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