Lord, may we who honour the holy name of Jesus enjoy his friendship
and be filled with eternal joy in his kingdom, where he lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Today is the day that the pilgrims in Madrid have been waiting for, the arrival of Pope Benedict in Madrid for the official start of World Youth Day and you could sense the feeling of anticipation around the city all day. We attended the Catechesis session this morning with Dana Scallon leading the singing but after that our minds were set on claiming our spot to watch the arrival of Pope Benedict in Plaza de Cibeles.
We arrived at Plaza de Cibeles about 3 hours before the Pope was due to arrive but the place was already heaving with pilgrims. It's wonderful to see young people representing so many different nations walking through the streets, singing, dancing, praying and enjoying sharing in our faith with each one of us.
Some of the Italians near where our group based ourselves were making us smile by offering 'Free Huggs' (their spelling not mine!) to the passing pilgrims while others were chanting for Pope Benedict for hours before he arrived. The atmosphere near Plaza de Cibeles was incredible, pure happiness radiating from each group as we knew we were soon to be in the presence of Pope Benedict to celebrate his arrival.
Every street around the area was packed with pilgrims looking for a space to sit and watch the ceremony and I think it was at this point we all began to appreciate just how many young people we were sharing this event with. Some were climbing lamp posts, others were standing on top of road signs just to catch a glimpse of Pope Benedict on the large screens that had been set up and although the heat of the day was intense it was a brilliant experience and we're now looking forward to the rest of World Youth Day in Pope Benedict's presence.
0 comments:
Post a Comment