WYD Madrid - Survivors

Oh God, who unites the hearts of your faithful in one desire, inspire your people

people to love your decrees and to hope in your promises, so that in the midst

of many occupations of this world, our hearts may be firm in true joy.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and

reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

So here we are, we wake to the most beautiful Spanish sunrise to one side of Cuatro Vientos knowing we've made it through the night and shall forever be known as the Vigil Survivors of the Hexham and Newcastle diocese. In all honesty, we did feel that we had achieved something by staying at the airfield over night and it's fair to say that the ten of us would have felt we had missed out on something had we not had the experience of that night shared with the other 2 million pilgrims around us.

At times it really was like something from a Holywood movie, the way the wind began whipping up around us, how the lightening storm was seemingly right above us and even when some of our group left during the night there was something very bizarre about the way in which they walked away from our group into the storm, almost as if they were going ahead to forge the way for us to follow later!

We ended up spending a lot of our evening and early morning talking to a group of Canadian pilgrims who were also meant to be in our designated section of the airfield but found themselves squeezed out too. So often in our faith we can feel isolated and maybe it takes events like this to realise that there are young people all over the world thinking the same thoughts about their faith as we are here. There were so many similarities between both groups but it was also great to hear how certain things at different in each of our cultures when comparisons were made.

The celebration of mass with Pope Benedict this morning may have been the last of the big occasions for WYD in Madrid this year but the memories we carry home with us will be of a faith shared, cherished and strengthened for each one of us. Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith was the theme of this world youth day and we will leave Madrid with the hope and determination that we can carry out this message in our own ministry to all the other young people we encounter in our lives back in England. World Youth Day has been a truly incredible experience and we are blessed and truly thankful of the opportunities that have been given to us over the last 10 days.

WYD Madrid - Prayer Vigil

Lord, by your grace we are made one in mind and heart. Give us a love

for what you command and a longing for what you promise, so that, amid

this world's changes, our hearts may be set on the world of lasting joy.

Today was all about one thing and that was our participation in the prayer vigil with Pope Benedict at Cuatro Vientos. In a way this was the big event that we'd all been looking forward to, some of us more so than others as the appeal of sleeping out on a runway wasn't exactly everyones cup of tea but we were all willing to give it a go regardless! We had a very long and stuffy ride on the Metro station to reach the nearest stop to Cuatro Vientos then needed to walk a couple of miles just to reach the airfield itself. The heat of the day was such that residents in the local area were hanging out of their windows with hose pipes during our walk to the airfield and the local fire service were driving through the crowds spraying water over everyone too.

Once we reached Cuatro Vientos we had to find our designated spot but quickly realised that we had no chance of setting up camp there as the area was already full so we headed further back into the overspill area and found a spot that was free right on the edge of the runway. Three of us then had one almighty walk to go and get our food parcels from the opposite end of the airfield to where we were based but it was worth it for the feast we all enjoyed once we made it back again, the Spanish people certainly know how to look after us Pilgrims!

As if to complete the circle after our pilgrimage started with a thunder storm in Toledo, another almighty storm was gathering throughout the evening which erupted into life just as we were beginning the prayer vigil at Cuatro Vientos. Nothing could dampen our spirits this evening, however, and we spent the storm sitting under the tiniest of tarpaulins or in rain jackets singing appropriate hymns for the occasions such as our God reigns and other similarly ironic choices. We had the opportunity to walk around the airfield for a little while after the vigil and soak up the atmosphere of so many young people from many different nations singing and dancing then all that was left was for us to get the sleeping bags out and attempt to get some sleep amongst the hysteria of 2million pilgrims dancing their way into the night!

Viva Papa!

This is just a short video of the moment that myself and another pilgrim from the Hexham and Newcastle group were lucky enough to be within yards of Pope Benedict XVI as he drove through the streets of Madrid:

We were simply spending some free time walking around the shops near our hotel when we made a decision about which street to follow next and thankfully for us it was a very lucky decision. Half way along the street we chose we wondered why crowds were gathering and quickly realised after over hearing a conversation that the Pope was soon to be driving along that road as he left the Seminary. Sure enough, within 30 minutes we were able to share this moment with the many other pilgrims lining the streets and it's certainly an experience that I will never forget.

WYD Madrid - Sharing our Faith

May God bless us in his mercy; may he make his face
shine on us, that we might know his ways on earth
and his saving power among all the nations.

This morning we took part in our last Catechesis session and I think all would agree it was by far the best of the three days. The morning started with Curtis Stephen and band playing loads of well known praise and worship songs which had everyone in the Love and Life centre on their feet singing and dancing along. It was also nice to hear Curtis give a shout out to the English pilgrims on a few occasions during the set, we can make as much noise as the Americans if we want to you see!

After this we enjoyed listening to Archbishop Timothy Dolan who had the 12000 pilgrims in front of him captivated with his testimony on how we can evangelise and be proud of our faith in modern society. He was a truly wonderful speaker and it's no wonder the Americans in attendance were speaking of him in such a proud manner when they'd mentioned his name previously.

Today we also had the opportunity to have lunch with Bishop Seamus Cunningham and Fr Marc Lyden Smith before sharing some of our experiences and thoughts on World Youth Day so far. This was a great opportunity to talk openly and honestly with each other and it was refreshing to hear people voicing their thoughts in this way.

WYD Madrid - Arrival of Pope Benedict

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.

WYD Madrid - Marianfest

This evening most of our group headed back to the Love and Life centre to attend Marianfest, celebrating the gift of our Blessed Mother Mary through music, prayer and worship. Many artists took to the stage during the evening including Alexander Acha and Dana.

The lady who undoubtedly stole the show, however, was Danielle Rose who performed a great acoustic set for the audience. The story of her mission to young people goes back to when she was 17 years old and volunteered for Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity and later promised Pope John Paul II that she would be his "messenger to the young people to take up the rosary once again" and she is certainly doing all she can to achieve this.

Behind the main arena at the Love and Life centre is a chapel for Adoration. This will be open throughout WYD and some of our group spent a little time there this evening during Marianfest in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. We don't get the opportunity for exposition all that often in our own churches here in England so it was a great experience to be able to spend some time in the chapel here this evening.