World Youth Day was the trip of a lifetime. It was a whirlwind of adventures, experiences and learning curves. This trip was definitely not one to take as a relaxing vacation but I would not change anything from the trip at all. We traveled through London, Paris, Madrid and Lisbon. We traveled using many means of transportation: airplane, their version of the subway, double Decker subways, sleeper trains, bus and of course by foot. Over the next four weeks, you will have the opportunity to travel through London, Paris, Madrid and Lisbon with me as I recall my trip. Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes before and during the trip that allowed us to return home safely. When we arrived in London, England on the 11th of August it was overcast just like a normal day in London. First thing we did was take the underground (subway) close to our hotel. While for every stop an increasing annoying voice because of the length of the travel would say, “Mind the gap.” When it was finally our time to exit we understood what “Mind the gap” meant, it referred to the rather large space between the underground and the platform. And so that is where our London adventure begins. After we found our hotel, sightseeing was next on the agenda.

First up the outside of Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards, I thought it was an interesting ceremony but was unable to see much as it is very popular with tourists. Next on the agenda was touring inside of Buckingham Palace. Being in rooms that the Queen of England and all other dignitaries of the world had been in was just amazing to me. Just walking around and listening to those annoying audio tour guides and large crowds of people was doable because of where you were and what you were looking at. Then to see Duchess Kate Middleton’s wedding dress in person was amazing. It was very cool to be in such an important palace in world history. Westminster Cathedral and Abbey were next on the sightseeing adventure. Westminster Cathedral is a very nice catholic church.

Westminster Abbey was of course where the royal wedding took place. Just walking around inside of Westminster Abbey and seeing the amazing stain glass windows and the high ceilings was enough for me. We walked right up to the breathtaking altar and seeing the coronation chair that all of the past Kings and Queens of England sat in was awesome. Seeing Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Mary I’s burial and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the center brought back the realization that England’s religion is different than ours and that we were not at home anymore. There was no separation of church and state.

We ended our time in London by visiting the Tower of London where everyone was beheaded by the King for disagreeing with him. It was awesome to see all of the armor, swords and crown jewels that make up the history of England. After that we walked across the Tower Bridge and then wandered around town along the Thames River and saw daily life in London. It was very neat to see the interactions between the people and just to see a bunch of other sites like the: Globe Theater, the London Bridge, the London Eye (the huge Ferris wheel) and Big Ben. London was a whirlwind of a trip because we were there just under 48 hours but it was awesome to be able to see as much of London as we were able to. I think the best part of being in London was that the weather was rainy and overcast like it is everyday so it added to the adventure and fun of being in London. I hope you enjoyed your little trip through London. Next week we will be traveling through Paris.

Our journey this week begins in Paris, France. We arrived in Paris at 11:30 pm after taking a train through the English Channel. While in Paris we saw a lot of churches and of course the Eiffel Tower. One of the first places we went was Notre Dame. Notre Dame was big and amazing looking. One weird thing that a lot of churches in Europe do is they let people come in and look around while mass is being celebrated. Now of course where the people sit is blocked off and so you just walk around the outside, but I still thought that it was a little weird. Anyway, after visiting Notre Dame we went on an adventure around Paris in search of Saint Vincent de Paul Church and the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal. We were late and so did not get to spend much time. However, it was very cool to go to see Saint Vincent de Paul’s body, our parish’s namesake, and pray in front of him. The Chapel of the Miraculous Medal was very beautiful. The chapel was amazing to sit in. I only wish we had more time to spend there.

After all of the wandering that day in Paris we made it to the Eiffel Tower. It was a long and very crowded ride to the two different levels for viewing Paris from the Eiffel Tower.  The main level was very crowded because that is where everyone can get to with just a normal ticket. The views from that level were just amazing. You could see for miles and miles. Once we got to the very top of the Eiffel Tower the views were breathtaking. It was just amazing to be that high in the sky and be able to see what seemed like all of Paris.

After we took the long ride back down to reality on the ground we hung out around the Eiffel Tower to wait until it was dark to see if there would be a light show. The Eiffel Tower lit up and sparkled. It was definitely worth waiting in the crowds to see that. While in Paris we celebrated mass in St Joseph’s Catholic Church. After mass we found out that it is the only English speaking parish in all of France. St Joseph’s Church was beautiful; you enter the church at ground level, but once inside you walked down a ramp and celebrated mass underground. The whole church is stone and it was a very neat experience to say I went to mass underground like the Christians after Jesus died.

From St Joseph’s Church we walked to the Arc de Triomphe which you have to walk underground to walk around it. Then we proceeded to the Champs de Elysee, the most expensive street in all of Paris, in hopes of getting to the Louvre. It was very cool to walk along the Champs de Elysee because you got to see everyday life in Paris. The Louvre was absolutely amazing. I would go back to the Louvre a thousand more times and probably still would not see everything inside of it. Now the Louvre was definitely crowded but the amount of art: paintings, sculptures, statues, pictures and so on definitely made the crowds worth it. I highly recommend going to the Louvre if you are ever in Paris. It is probably one of my favorite memories from the trip.

Our final church stop in Paris was Sacré-Cœur, the Basilica of Paris. When you first approach it, you aren’t sure what to think because of the massive size and height. There were actually 309 steps to climb from the ground to the door of Sacré-Cœur. Yes, I did count every single step with Mr. Kenny and Domenica Kempisty. Sacré-Cœur was as amazing inside as it was outside. There were numerous little chapels inside and another level underground where we celebrated mass. We were joined by another World Youth Day group. It was just like being at one of our teen masses here in Richboro with lots of singing, guitars and clapping. Paris was an amazing part of the trip. I am glad that I got to see all of the different churches and see and experience Paris in general. Next week we will begin our journey with the overnight train ride from Paris to Madrid for World Youth Day. Until next week….

On August 12, we arrived in Paris at 11pm after traveling on the Chunnel. We were staying in a Best Western, specifically the Albert. After a nice night’s rest, we went to see Notre Dame. The Cathedral of Notre Dame is so pretty. It is also huge! What I remember most about visiting Notre Dame was standing outside with all the birds. There was a guy there who was showing everyone how to catch birds on your hand with bread. The trick? It was a special type of bread. Once you have that bread in your hand, the birds become attached to you like a spider on a fly that just got stuck in its web.

After Notre Dame, we went to Saint Vincent ’s church. I was excited to go to that church because I remembered learning about it in seventh or eighth grade. In this church, the body of Saint Vincent de Paul is preserved in wax and it is above the main altar in a solid silver shrine. The heart of Saint Vincent de Paul is kept in the Miraculous Medal chapel, which we also visited. It was also cool because we got to see the actual body of our own parish’s patron saint.

After visiting the Saint Vincent de Paul parish of Paris , we went to see the most widely known tourist attraction in Paris , France. The Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was personally one of my favorite things we saw. It’s located in a nice park surrounded by trees and walk ways. We took the elevator to the second level. Each elevator could only go so high, so after you got off on the second level you had to climb stairs to the third then take another elevator to the very top. From the top of the Eiffel Tower, Paris looks gorgeous! After the Eiffel Tower , we split up and went out to dinner. After dinner we went back to the tower to see it when it was all lit up. When the Eiffel Tower is lit up, it is so cool. There is one type of light on it that makes it look like it is sparkling!

The next day, August 14th, was a very busy day. We started off our day with mass in an underground church. I personally thought the church was very pretty and also interesting. Since it was underground, there weren’t many windows, if there were any at all. It was also nice because the mass was said in English. After church, we went to see the Arc de Triumph. I thought that it was very cool looking, but also very simple. After that, we went shopping on Champs Elysees. There were a million stores there, and some of my favorite stores I saw were all the car places. The cars they were showing in these stores were so awesome. After we were done shopping, we went to see the Louvre, home of the Mona Lisa and Venus Demilo. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I always thought that the Mona Lisa was a giant painting. It’s actually quite small. There were so many other pieces of art in the Louvre that were things that I have never seen before. When all of us were done in the Lourve, we split up again and did our own things for dinner.

Me, my mom, Mr. Kenny, and a few of my friends decided to go to a carnival that was right outside the museum. It was, by far, the best carnival I’ve ever been to. We went on the swings, or otherwise known as the “Italian Trapeze,” which went about 50 feet in the air! Even better, my dinner consisted of a Belgium waffle covered in Nutella and Nutella ice cream. That was probably my favorite meal I had all 13 days. After a long day like that, filled with walking and exciting visits, we were all ready for bed.

On August 15th, we had Mass for the Holy day. Our mass was held at Sacre Couer, or the Basilica, in Paris . It was really heart breaking to see all the people trying to sell things illegally outside of a holy place like that. Other than that, I thought that the Basilica was beautiful. Our mass was held with another group of Spanish speaking pilgrims from New Mexico that were on their way to WYD as well. It was an interesting mass, because the other group was very musical and they all got very into the songs being sung, which I thought was very nice and it was also fun! After mass we went outside to get back into groups and go to the hotel. There was a guy who was extremely good at soccer standing on a ledge. He was juggling a soccer ball, very intensely if I might say so myself. We all thought it was amazing at first, but it was nothing compared to his next trick. He climbed up a light post and held himself up with just his arms and juggled the ball while hanging from the post! I had never seen anything like it before. After we got back to the hotel, we got our bags and headed for the train station. We got in our sleeper cars and off to Spain we went!

One of the newest experiences of the entire trip was the sleeper cars going to Spain. You are in very close quarters, with very little room for anything besides yourselves. The actual train ride was fun; it was definitely noisy and smelly in the corridors of the train. Also it was hard trying to walk down the corridors because of the way the train moves. I had an awesome time on the 12 hour ride on the sleeper train but I can’t say that I would eagerly anticipate doing it again. After we arrived in Madrid and finally figured out how to get to the gym we were staying in we were ready to begin World Youth Day. The gym we stayed in was a regular gym but I was happy that we had shelter from the rain at night. We stayed about an hour outside of Madrid, so daily travel into the city for the World Youth Day events was a struggle because of the distance and the crowds of people. Our commute involved an hour bus ride and at least one 20 minute subway ride depending on where we were going.

World Youth Day itself was awesome. Attending the opening mass outside in one of the squares in Madrid with over a million people was amazing. Just to see all the people that had made the same journey as our group and who believe in Jesus. It was also really neat to see how connected everyone was regardless of what language you spoke or the country you came from. We also got the opportunity to celebrate Mass with all of the English speaking catholic from all over the world that were there. Archbishop Chaput was also there and gave a talk about life. We even managed to get a picture with him. The day that Pope Benedict XVI was set to arrive we set up camp on the blacktop in the heart of Madrid in hopes of seeing him drive by us.

Unfortunately it was over 100 degrees out so he came when we expected him. It was still great to see all of the millions of people there waiting for him. While sitting outside waiting to see him, we had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Then it was time for the big closing Mass called the overnight. The overnight was set to be held on an old airport runway. The temperature was over 100 degrees that day and you have to walk to get in. Along the way a ton of locals were spraying the crowds with their hoses and pouring buckets of water over the crowds. We stopped numerous times and eventually only a few of us went into the overnight. When we got inside, it was extremely crowded, granted there were probably close to 2 million people there.

After we finally made our way carefully through the crowds as to not lose anyone; we finally found space in the farthest corner in front of a tractor trailer with a huge TV screen on it. Behind us were the thousands of locals that came just to see the Pope. Unfortunately they were down a hill from us and behind a fence, but it was still amazing to see because Spain isn’t the most Catholic country. Once we got settled in the corner a tremendous wind storm came out of nowhere. We all huddled together in front of the tractor trailer and covered ourselves to try and protect us from the rocks and dirt flying everywhere. However, once it all passed by everyone started dancing and singing all night long and had a great time. The next morning we celebrated the closing Mass with Pope Benedict XVI. Then we started our long journey to Lisbon, Portugal. Until next week…

Hola everyone!

I am writing about a pilgrimage I just experienced along with over hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world!  This pilgrimage was based on a single day that called for days of celebration. That day was labeled World Youth Day and it was a day that I can NEVER forget (trust me, I kept a journal so I couldn’t even if I tried!)!

First off, since I won’t be home to thank everyone in person, I want to thank you all now.  The 30 pilgrims that I traveled with and I, would not have encountered the same experiences if it weren’t for everyone’s thoughts, support, and most importantly, love and prayers!  I wish that every single one of you could have experienced the captivating and mesmerizing moments that I did.  So I am writing to bring the adventure to you! World Youth Day is something I have been waiting for since my oldest brother, Shaun, went to Toronto in 2002. He and my mom came back with stories that toyed with my mind ever since, and now after 9 years, I have stories and memories of my own! 

One of the things that amazed me the most, was that everyone we met was there for two reasons; 1. to see the Pope, 2. to celebrate something that we all have in common. And that one single thing was the Faith.

When we walked on to the field the night we spent outside, it honestly brought tears to my eyes! (I know, cheesy right!)  Just looking out over the field behind us and seeing only half of the people that were there for Christ, was reason enough to celebrate!  And celebrate we did!  The night was filled with music, dance, and worship! There are over 4,000 languages with dozens of dialects within each of those languages.  One language that is understood by all people of the world is music and praise. It is even more beautiful when they are brought together to be one in Christ! That night was beautiful! We were able to participate in adoration and the sacrament of Reconciliation before the storm came. Pope Benedict thanked us for weathering out the storm before talking to us about being “Firm in the Faith.” We were then able to sing, dance (and dancing we did!) and just celebrate with other young Catholics from around the world in serious and silly ways and managing to get an hour or so of sleep before the Pope came back in the morning for the Closing Mass.

It is impossible to put everything that I (and I hope everyone in the group) experienced into words.  I want to thank Fr. McLaughlin for his prayers and support (and non-stop paperwork) and everyone in our St. Vincent DePaul Parish family.  We would not have been able to go if it weren’t for you.  I also want  to thank JP2 for realizing that the youth are the future of the Church and therefore starting World Youth Day, and ultimately Jesus, because really if it weren’t for him, none of this really could be possible!! 

=D God Bless!