Students from St. Mary High School in Westfield gather for the Pro Life March

THE DIOCESE OF SPRINGFIELD TAKES TO THE STREETS OF WASHINGTON

Hundreds from the Diocese of Springfield journey to our nation’s capital to show their support for pro life.

Matthew Warbington, a freshman at Holyoke Catholic High School in Chicopee was one many from his school who took an overnight bus to DC to show support for life.

Matthew, who is a regular altar server on the Chalice of Salvation Mass, said he was impressed  by his trip and shared some of his thoughts and photos.

He described the rally at the Verizon Center and DC Armory as amazing. “There was a lot of spirit in the building. The music was awesome and the people speaking had very powerful speeches about pro life,” he said.

Cardinal Wuerl

 He added, “The Mass was very nice and well done. There were a lot of cardinals, bishops, priests and deacons  from around the United States. There was even one from Australia.”

Crowd marching

 ”The March for Life, itself, was a great expereince,” said Matthew. “In the mall I heard many people from Congress talk about why they are pro life. Just about everyone had signs and shouted chants. The whole day was amazing!”

Members of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Springfield filled 52 shoeboxes as part of Operation Christmas Child. Volunteers donated and wrapped gifts for children. They were sent to North Carolina in November as part of a parish project.. They are among similar shipments from all over the United States, co-ordinated by Samaritan’s Purse annual project, Operation Christmas Child.

A sample of the goodies in each shoe box!

 These local shoeboxes were filled  by CCD classes and participating  parish families. Flights will deliver them to the Operation Christmas Child destinations for 2011: Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and South Africa.

The boxes were blessed at a Nov. 6th Mass at the parish and the children formed a procession with the shoeboxes.
 

These pro life poems were written and submitted by Henry K. Zephir

A Message from the Little One

I AM

Please do not say, that I am not,

As I nestle infintesimally small in my mother’s womb.

For to do so would deny that an amoeba does not exist,

Or that a spec of dust in an eye just cannot be.

But certainly we know that these incredibles are,

As both can be seen when microscopically viewed.

So for anyone to deny that as small as I am,

That already I, can never be, is certainly an error.

For if I am not, then you too must not be,

As I am following life’s process, and today you are.

So as you read or pnder this, you must certainly admit,

That it is undeniably true, that since I am exactly as you once were,

That surely I AM.

A LETTER FROM THE LITTLE ONE

Dear Mommie,

As I nestle in the warmtha nd darkness of your womb, I am not afraid.

For whild I abide here without swaddling clothes, a blanket, or light, I am warm and secure knowing that always you protect me.

Constantly I am comforted by the lullaby of your beating heart and the nourishment form your person.

While you may not realize it, I already know you so ver well.

I expereince the sweet fragrance of your body and the gentleness of your touch as you caress my tener carriage.

I am comforted by your voice as you talk and sing to me and sense your supernatural love that gives me strength to undergo my continuous growth.

While I feel safe and secure in your loving body, I know that onde day I  will finsih my hjourney here and will see you face to face.

Then your tender arms will cuddle me and I will see the sunshine of your smile and feel the gentleness of your person.

I know it will be difficult for you and me to wait for that wonderful day but we both know that our God is watching over and protecting us during this time.

Until my birthing comes, I will enjoy my peaceful slumber here in your womb assured that you will love and protect me always and therefore I am not afraid.

Love you Mommie.

Your little one.

Kigali Skyline

Rwandans try to move beyond images of genocide

By Father Bill Pomerleau

Pastor, Our Lady of Sacred Heart Parish in Springfield

Editor’s note: Fr. Bill Pomerleau was recently on a “working vacation” in East Africa, where he is reporting on places and people with ties to the Diocese of Springfield.

KIGALI, Rwanda –  Friday, July 1

The Belgians, who ruled Rwanda from 1922 to 1962, called this small nation “La Petite Suisse” because its steep hills reminded them of Switzerland.

And compared to their larger, more turbulent colony of Congo, it may have seemed a peaceful place.

But the peace would not last.

When German colonizers arrived in this then-remote region of central Africa in 1887, they “discovered” two highly organized, hierarchical kingdoms called Rwanda and Burundi. A minority group, called Tutsis, tended to own more cattle and have more influence, while the less influential who worked the land were called Hutus.

Historians today agree that the social divisions here were based on social class, rather than ethnic divisions, since residents of both nations always spoke the same language, and shared the same culture.

La petite Suisse

But the colonizers found it difficult to believe that these pagan Africans could develop societies that resembled medieval Europe. They falsely theorized that the ruling class were descendants of “Hamatic” Ethiopians who had lost their Christianity as they intermarried with inferior Bantu people.

At first, those who owned more than ten head of cattle were classified as Tutsis. But soon, the Germans and Belgians were obsessed with distinguishing the two “peoples” by supposed physical characteristics. Colonial officials measured the foreheads and noses of residents to classify them as either Tutsi or Hutu.

The Belgians, themselves divided by conflicts between their own French-speaking Walloon and Dutch-speaking Flemish social groups, issued Rwandan identity cards bearing the Tutsi or Hutu classifications in 1932.

The seeds of conflict were planted.

Rwanda identity cards

Rwandans point out that the western idea of a centuries-old “ethnic” rivalry here is a myth, or at least an over-simplification of a complicated social situation. Inter-marriage between Tutsis and Hutus was common.

But no one here denies what happened here in 1994, when a Hutu militia and its supporters instigated a mass killing of Tutsis and sympathetic moderate Hutus. 

While there is some debate about the exact number of deaths, the displays at the Kigali Genocide Memorial and most independent observers believe that over one million people, out of a population of 8 million, died in the genocide known to most Americans through the film “Hotel Rwanda.”

The Hotel Mille Collines has re-opened under a new Rwandan owner.  Its former manager, Paul Rusesabagina, is a controversial figure here, with critics claiming that he used his best-selling book and Hollywood to exaggerate his heroism during the genocide.

President Kagame

Rusesabagina, who recently moved to Texas after living in Belgium since 1994, is an outspoken critic of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, a former Tutsi militia leader. International human rights organizations say that Kagame has begun to suppress the political opposition here, while some Hutus fear that the old divisions that lead to the genocide may return.

But thanks to the help of the international community, there have been dramatic efforts to move beyond Rwanda’s recent history.

It took 40 years for Berlin to complete is Holocaust Memorial; its counterpart in Kigali opened on the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide.

The memorial grounds include mass graves where over 250,000 genocide victims from across Rwanda have been interred.  New remains are added as they are found in shallow graves, latrines, and other locations.

Inside the building housing a museum and research center, one stark room contains several hundred photos of victims.  Another contains display cases with human skulls and bones. 

During our two-hour visit, we saw African and non-African visitors cry as they moved through the exhibits.

But today’s Rwanda has more than memorials.

By African standards, its capital city of Kigali is very modern.  There is new construction everywhere, and advertising is now more likely to be in English, rather than French.  English which is now talk along with Kirwanda in the schools, is linking Rwanda to its eastern neighbors in the developing East Africa Community, while French seems more linked to the its Belgian past and its troubled neighbor Congo to the west.

The few Rwandans we met who did not speak either European tongue could understand Kiswahili, the language of trade across eastern Africa.

Mass graves in Rwanda

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Westfield held a Public Rosary Rally on October 13 as part of a national movement.

  Last year there were 5,000 groups praying together and this year there were 7,515 groups, which
included 22 countries, all praying the Rosary. 

  The day coincided with Fatima’s anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun. This commemorates the appearance of the Blessed Mother to three children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917.

 
The group promoting the rosary rallies is  America Needs Fatima which can be found on
Facebook or on the internet at www.americaneedsfatima.org.

The site notes:”As the world situation becomes increasingly threatening, the idea of holding a Rosary in a public place has become more popular. As human efforts fail to solve our growing economic, social, moral and spiritual troubles, more people are turning the supernatural solutions: The Fatima message of prayer and penance, and the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

Mary Lou Bonfitto of Our Lady of Blessed Sacrament Parish, shared these

 photos. She said about 52 people came to the rally. “I thought that the 52 people in attendance was hopeful.  While protesters
occupy Wall Street, people throughout Western Mass. people came together to pray for America and conversion.”

She said young and old came to the event. “One person said that she felt compelled to come and had never prayed a Rosary,” according to Mary Lou.

“I hope a “mustard seed” was implanted that may lead them to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Heart,” she said.

Hope Academy

By Father Bill Pomerleau

Pastor, Our Lady of Sacred Heart Parish in Springfield

Editor’s note: Fr. Bill Pomerleau was recently on a “working vacation” in East Africa, where he is reporting on places and people with ties to the Diocese of Springfield.

MASAKA, Uganda   Wednesday, June 29

The bus ride from Kampala to Masaka turned out to be a bit of an adventure.

It was to be an easy three hour jaunt in one of the 29-passenger mini-busses which leave frequently from the Ugandan capital to this town in the south.

A local friend helped us find the proper spot for a mini-bus. He put us on an empty vehicle, which allowed us to sit in the more roomy front seats with our carry-on luggage. But it took over an hour for us to depart, since the mini-buses only leave when they are full.

Kampala bus station

Across Africa, waiting bus passengers are approached by roaming vendors offering a variety of items for sale. Within 30 minutes, we were offered cards with cell phone minutes (service contracts are less common), soft drinks, skewered meat, picture books to teach Buganda-speaking children English, and a solar-powered cell phone charger.

I bought a good ballpoint pen for one American dollar.

An hour out of Kampala, the mini-bus broke down. The driver opened a compartment  between the front seats which revealed a simple Japanese engine. After twenty minutes of tinkering with a wrench, became obvious that we weren’t going anywhere.

The other passengers seemed to instinctively know that help would not arrive for some time, and began flagging down other passing vehicles. Our bus conductor, who had collected a full cash fare on the bus as we departed, refused to give us a full refund.  I persuaded my traveling companion that it was not worth arguing about the $20 fare; so we caught a group taxi and paid again to finish our journey.

After arriving two hours late, we arrived in Masaka, where we were met by Adrian Luswata, a staff member for the Uganda Rural Fund.

URF is a development against founded in 2005 by Ugandans and foreign supporters who sponsor various educational, agricultural and social projects in under-developed areas of the country. 

Among its foreign board members is Father Michael Lilpopp, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Parish in West Springfield.

In recent years, Uganda has made tremendous strides in the battle against HIV-AIDS.

Its government-sponsored ABC program, stressing abstinence, being faithful to one’s sexual partner, condom use and male circumcision, has dramatically brought HIV infection rates down.

The program is widely hailed across Africa and beyond as a model in the struggle against the AIDS.

But a lower new infection rate hardly means that the after effects of the pandemic have gone away.

In a rundown neighborhood outside of Masaka, we visited the Nazareth Children’s Home, where 27 AIDS orphans are cared for by Ugandan staffers and occasional foreign volunteers.

From the moment we stepped inside, young children grabbed my legs and clung to me as I toured the Spartan facility.  On sometimes sees this behavior in rural Africa where white visitors are rare, but my traveling companion, a Sudanese-American who spoke to the kids in Kiswahili, got the same treatment.

“I think the staff is so busy taking care of what the kids need, they are starved for affection.  When we go there on the weekend, our job is just to play and hang out with them,” explained Aaron Owen, a senior at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Owen and Natalie Campbell, another Marquette student are spending the summer  volunteering with the Uganda Rural Fund.  During the week, the live and work at Hope International Academy in a rural area about 20 miles west of Masaka.

Volunteer room

By American standards, its computer lab seemed hopelessly outdated.  There was no internet here, yet students were learning simple word processing on hand-me down personal computers from a school in the United States.

Pupils will spend a lot of time writing lessons down in old-fashioned notebooks here,  and listen quietly as teachers explain their material on slate blackboards.

After school program

URF has a small administrative office in the Ugandan capital of Kampala run by Peter Francis Luswata, a seminary classmate of Father Lilpopp who returned to his home country before his ordination to the diaconate.

But most of the URF’s programs actually operated out of the Hope Academy building. These include a health clinic, a piggery, chicken coop and areas for geese and turkeys, and a saving and loan organization.

Adult education for women and men focuses on sustainable, eco-friendly rural development, helping those who depend on subsistence farming to diversify their crops and learn new agricultural techniques.

But the biggest URF project is the school, which serves high school students from a wide area that lacked decent schools.

Headmaster Thaddeus Kwetamba told me that up to half of his student body are AIDS orphans, many of who cannot afford to pay the modest tuition that school charges. He told me that if his school’s academic standards remain high enough, it may become eligible for some government subsidy.

But in the meantime, help from abroad is critical for the school’s operations, Kwetamba said.

The following is the homily given by Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell at the  Respect Life Sunday Mass held at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield on October 2, 2011.

          On this Respect Life Sunday, I’m delighted that we have with us members of the Diocesan Pro-Life Commission, and representatives of many of the organizations that have done so much to show respect for life in all its stages. In a special way, I want to welcome representatives of the Knights of Columbus who are here in number this morning to stand up for life.  After the Mass they will be marching for life, and we thank them for their commitment.

          The theme of this year’s Respect Life month is taken from Jesus words in St. John’s Gospel: “I came so all might have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

          Here in western Massachusetts, we see undertakings toward making life full proclaimed in the work of organizations like Birthright, Bethlehem House, Liferight, and others that assist pregnant women.  We see undertakings toward making life full proclaimed in the outreach of Project Rachel to those scarred by abortion.  We see undertakings toward making life full proclaimed in the prayer, fasting, vigil and outreach of the “40 Days for Life” campaign. We see undertakings toward making life full shown to children and families by our schools, youth programs and social service agencies.  We see undertakings toward making life full manifest in nursing homes and in hospitals, in food banks and in meal programs for the elderly.  We see undertakings toward making life full in services to the poor, the needy and the immigrant.  We see undertakings toward making life full in social justice programs in parishes and institutions.  This past summer we saw such undertakings in the outpouring of support and compassion in the aftermath of the June tornado and of the August floods. But we also see that despite what is being done there is still more to do. 

          Recently, the Massachusetts Attorney General ruled that citizens in the Commonwealth may soon be asked to vote on the legalization of what is being called “Compassionate Care,” more technically labeled “Physician Assisted Suicide.”  It’s really “Kervorkian Care” because it would authorize physicians to give death-dealing drugs so that people could commit suicide.  The proponents will tell you it’s totally voluntary and they are only interested in easing the suffering of the sick and the burden carried by loved ones: “compassionate care.”  A few years ago, that was the argument put forth by Dr. Jack Kervorkian when he was found guilty of complicity in the deaths of so many people.  It’s interesting, isn’t it, that if it were giving pistols to people instead of pills there would probably be an uproar.  But pistol or pill both are intended to be used by the recipient to kill himself or herself.  Neither seems compassionate.

          If we accept the “compassionate care” rhetoric, we buy into a utilitarian ethic – a judgment on others not because of their intrinsic God-given dignity but on the basis of whether or not they are considered useful by others.  And that in a nutshell is why we need this Respect Life Sunday and this Respect Life month.  For even some who profess to be firm believers can become infected with the utilitarian ethic that places less of a premium on some human lives, deeming them in some way “less worthy than others.” 

          We have seen the “less worthy than others” argument in the death of 50,000,000 unborn babies.  We have seen the “less worthy than others” argument in the marginalization of the poor.  We have seen the “less worthy than others” argument in the isolation of the elderly.  We have seen the “less worthy than others” argument in the demonizing of people because of their religion.  We have seen the “less worthy than others” argument in the profiling of persons because of appearance.  We have seen the “less worthy than others” argument in disdain for those who seem different.  We have seen the “less worthy than others” argument in the readiness to execute the condemned even when questions remain.  We have seen it in too many ways, in too many circumstances, among too many in our society.    

          We all need to be reminded of each person’s God-given inherent dignity, reminded not only by our faith but by the basic American creed: “All…are created equal…endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights…life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  Acceptance of the inherent dignity of each human being, realization of the role of the Creator, and belief in the fundamental right to life have in too much of our society given way to a judgment that values the individual in relation to how useful he or she is to others.  Too many in our society are saying: Stop being useful and you’re no longer of value.  What a topsy-turvy world that makes.      

          Church teaching is about full life for the individual not the individual’s usefulness. This was expressed by Blessed John Paul II and reaffirmed by the Holy See under Pope Benedict XVI, namely, “the intrinsic value and personal dignity of every human being do not change, no matter what the concrete circumstances of his or her life. A man, even if seriously ill or disabled in the exercise of his highest functions, is and always will be a man, and he will never become a ‘vegetable’ or an ‘animal’.”   

          On this Respect Life Sunday, we ask Catholics and all people of good will to witness to the truth about the incomparable dignity and right to life of every human being. This is no sectarian creed. It’s universally recognized, it’s stated very precisely in 1989’s Preamble to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: The “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”

          Or, as Jesus reminded us: “I came so that all might have life and have it to the full.”

Now that is useful – and it needs to be respected.

Photos courtesy of Catholic News Service, the USCCB Pro Life Office, Our Lady of the Valley Parish in Sheffield and Catholic Communications.

Priest-rich but cash poor diocese thrives

By Father Bill Pomerleau

Pastor, Our Lady of Sacred Heart Parish in Springfield

Editor’s note: Fr. Bill Pomerleau was recently on a “working vacation” in East Africa, where he is reporting on places and people with ties to the Diocese of Springfield.

KYENJOJO, Uganda –  Sunday, June 26

A few years ago, the Katoosa Catholic Parish here participated in a local pastoral planning process.

When the consultations were over, the Diocese of Fort Portal decided that the parish would include 46, rather than 63, mission stations.

The Katoosa parish (known by the village in which it is located, rather than by its patron saint), has a structure common to most of rural Africa. 

The main parish church, which is off the main road between the Ugandan capital of Kampala and the western city of Fort Portal, usually schedules two Sunday Masses: one in the Rutooro language of the predominant local Tooro ethnic group, and another in English for the convenience of parishioners of other ethnic groups.

Most Sundays, the parish’s two priests each celebrate Sunday Mass at one of the parish’s eight “sub parishes,” or mission churches. On weekdays, the priests hear confessions and celebrate the liturgy at “stations,” or chapels where Sunday Mass is celebrated a few days after the Lord’s Day.

Under the system, most parishioners are able to attend Mass once a month.  Catechists, trained lay ministers who perform many of the duties of permanent deacons or professional lay ministers in the United States, lead Eucharistic services in the sub parishes and their affiliated stations the other three weeks of the month.

“Is it true that everybody who works in a parish in America is paid?” asked Francis Akiiki, transitional deacon from Katoosa who was scheduled to be ordained a priest in August.

I explained that secretaries, organists and some directors of religious education are commonly paid positions in U.S. parishes.  On the other hand, larger African parishes commonly have modestly paid cooks, cleaners and gatekeepers.

Because last Sunday was the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Katoosa Parish celebrated a single Sunday liturgy, with a Eucharistic procession around the parish grounds after Mass.  With three priests, two deacons and eight alb-clad catechists surrounding the altar, the liturgy had a particularly festive air.

Corpus Christi procession

On Monday, I traveled to Fort Portal to meet with Bishop Robert Muhiirwa , the diocesan ordinary of Father Adolph Busubozi, a chaplain at Baystate Medical Center and Father John Tibakinirwa, a former hospital chaplain Springfield now ministering in Boston.

Bishop Muhiirwa’s sprawling residence and office, on a separate property from Fort Portal’s cathedral and chancery, houses ten people.  With plenty of vocations, the diocese has assigned a relatively large percentage of its priests to diocesan ministry.

Fort Portal Bishop Robert

Support for priests working in charitable, educational or similar ministries on the diocesan level sometimes comes from government funding of foreign donors.

Parish priests receive no set salaries, and are dependent on modest gifts from parishioners or family resources. Money is the reason why Fort Portal is only slowly, if steadily, divided its vast rural parishes in more pastorally manageable sizes.

Scene outside Fort Portal

By Father Bill Pomerleau

Pastor, Our Lady of Sacred Heart Parish in Springfield

Editor’s note: Fr. Bill Pomerleau was recently on a “working vacation” in East Africa, where he is reporting on places and people with ties to the Diocese of Springfield.

Stability returns to Kenya’s Rift Valley

ELDORET, Kenya– Friday, June 24

Most Americans, if they have heard of Eldoret at all, know it as the training center for the long-distance Kenyan runners who frequently win the Boston Marathon and other major road races.

That is fine with local Catholics here, who hope to put Eldoret’s other recent place in the news behind them.

In January 2008, city was the scene of major ethnic tensions following a disputed presidential and parliamentary election.  Provoked by local politicians exploiting long-simmering tensions, some member of majority Kalejin ethnic groups attacked the city’s Kikuyus, who are Kenya’s largest ethnic group but a minority here.

Unlike inRwandain 1994, when some Hutu clergy actively participated in the ethnic genocide against their Tutsi parishioners, the predominantly Kalenjin priests and bishop here quickly mobilized to protect and aid their fellow citizens.

“At one point there might have been 8,000 people here,” said Eldoret Bishop  Cornelius Arap Korir, giving me a tour of the walled cathedral and chancery compound that seemed smaller than the campus of Springfield’s Cathedral High School.

“Our chapel became a dispensary which treated 200 people a day,” he noted.

Thanks to quick relief supplies from Kenyan and international aid organizations, the Eldoret Diocese was able to shelter diplaced Kikuyus, and prevent a re-occurrence of what happened in an Assemblies of God church in town, where 30 people were burned alive in ethnic violence.

Yet lower-level violence in the form of ordinary street crime, and crimes which may have their origins in local politics, continue to haunt this part ofKenya’s Rift Valley region.

Bishp Korir

The bishop and I discussed the unsolved 2006 murder of Father Jude Kibor, who was a graduate student at Springfield College and helped with sacramental ministry in the Diocese of Springfield from 1990 to 1992.

In a 1991 interview with The Catholic Observer, Father Kibor said that unlike Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia, Kenya was largely free of famine and bloody tribal conflict. But he warned that foreign debt, poor harvests and international trade developments were hurting his nation’s economy.

After returning fromSpringfield, Father Kibor served in several parishes befor becoming the chaplain at Eldoret’s prison. His death occurred in an ambush on a rural road outside the city after receiving a supposed request to anoint a dying man,

Some former parishioners of the priest told me at the time that he was killed by those upset that he was preaching against government corruption.

Bishop Korir was more cautious in opinion about the murder. 

“It could have been a personal dispute about property Father owned, or it could have been arranged by a prisoner who had become his enemy.  Whenever he met with me, he would always say exactly what he thought,” the bishop said cautiously.

Downtown Eldoret

“I keep asking the authorities if they have new information about the crime, but they tell me there is no new information,” the bishop said.

2006 to 2008 was a particularly difficult period for the Kenyan church, with various priests and a bishop killed in murky circumstances.

Bishop Korir told me that most of the murdered priests were probably victims of street crime, but his fellow Bishop, Luigi Locati of the Isiolo Diocese was probably murdered by one of his own priests.

“The priest was a convert from Islam before he was ordained. Maybe he was still an angry Muslim in his heart,” the bishop said with a sigh.

Eldoret violence

But the church in Eldoret seems not only to have survived, but grown in recent years,

The grounds of Sacred Heart Cathedral, a modern structure designed by an Irish architect in 1968, are pleasant and peaceful. The bishops showed me the daily Mass chapel, which is being converted into an adoration chapel.

“Too many people come to daily Mass now. We have to have the liturgy in the main cathedral,” Bishop Korir explained.

St. Mary Pilgrims at World Youth Day in Spain

A reflection on the World Youth Day – Madrid Spain – 2011

By Father Brian McGrath

Pastor,  St. Mary Parish, Westfield

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE AND ST. MARY’S PARISH

I woke early this morning (11 a.m. Spanish time, 5 a.m. EST) but that was good.  It gave me time to clear my desk (a box of mail and various notes), weed out my email (from the 187 messages waiting when I turned
it on, to the 84 that remain to be answered sometime today), sort the various suitcases we brought back (one was full of extra WYD backpacks that we will ship down to the COTY mission – Haitian Plunge), get some
breakfast and start two loads of laundry.

The mud stains from sleeping at Quartro Vientos and the sweat stains on my black clerics tell such a story.  Most of the trip we had temperatures that topped 100 degrees.  The day we walked to the Vigil
(along with nearly a million other pilgrims) the thermometer on my clock topped at 137 in the sun and 105 in the shade (we ended up taking it out of the sun because the plastic started to melt).  Every stitch
of clothing I brought home went to the washing machine. 

Crowds at World Youth Day

But I am way ahead of myself.
Zaragoza:  Our trip started with a day journey from Barcelona Airport to Zaragoza. On the way we stopped at Montserrat.  A pilgrimage point for many hundreds of years, it was a fitting way to begin our
pilgrimage.  In the bright sun we walked the streets of this mountain monastery.  The highlight for me was waiting an hour to kiss the virgin above the high altar.  Being with our youth I began to see the yearning
and hopes they had brought.  Together we venerated our Mother, the patroness of our journey.  The day before I was celebrating Mass at St. Mary’s and there I was kissing our Lady in Spain.  On the way out of
the Church I lit a candle for our people back home.  There were some special intentions for someone who had suffered a heart episode but I tried to lift everyone up.  My attentions would be focused on the
youth, so I wanted to hand friends, family and parishioners over to Mary.

In Zaragoza itself most of our youth were hosted by families.  It was a mix of great families and some who did not realize that we were on a pilgrimage.  Nonetheless we spent the days visiting the shrines (Nuestra Señora del Pilar Basilica, or the Pilar for short. It contains the pillar Mary left to St. James in 40 AD … yes that is while she was alive … in an apparition to him as he evangelized the Spanish Peninsula; La Seo is the Bishop’s Cathedral and a marvel of art and architecture), joining in the festivities, celebrating Mass and seeing
the city.  Zaragoza was founded by Caesar Augustus (it was originally called Caesaraugusta and over the  years that has morphed into Zaragoza. … say it with the Castillian lisp and you will understand) in 25 BC on the banks of the largest river in Spain (the Ebro).  It is an amazing mix of Roman, Muslim, Jewish, Renaissance and Spanish influences.

Pilar Basilica

There were over 3,000 youth from Italy, Spain, the US, Canada, Russia and many more countries.  The streets became a festival of encounters and singing and joy.  One wonderful memory I have is the youth of
Zaragoza themselves. The youth there were so excited to be with us.Even in Madrid I continued to get texts from those we met in Zaragoza.

St. Mary's pilgrims cool off in Spain

Madrid:  After a wonderful Mass with the Archbishop of Zaragoza we were on our bus bound for Madrid.  I should have known we were in for a physically difficult time when we tried to turn on the AC in the bus
(it was nearly 100 degrees inside as we were driving). The problem was that the bus driver had been keeping his window open as we drove across the desert plateau towards Madrid, but even when we shut it there was
no AC strong enough for the Spanish heat.  Another foreshadowing was our welcome to the school where we were staying … the address we had was the front of the school, but no one was there to receive us …
after much searching we ended up on the other side.  The volunteers at the school were great.  They gave of themselves to make our stay as best as it could be (sleeping on classroom floors, taking cold showers
in our bathing suits, sharing small bathrooms with the other several hundred pilgrims from France, Italy, Brazil, the Philippines, Michigan and Canada.) Our males shared the room with 6 youth and chaperones.
Vancouver … I didn’t wear my Bruins shirt out of Christian charity).

Local pilgrims smiling through the heat

The days were filled with Catechesis (the best was Archbishop Timothy Dolan from New York) and youth festivals. Imagine walking through a park the size of Central Park in New York City with thousands upon thousands of fellow pilgrims from around the world. It’s a festival just to be part of the moment. There were concerts  and we encountered Tony Melendez at a church and he invited us to a concert not even listed on the schedule … along with 12,000 others. The night was amazing!

This was followed by the  opening Mass with the Cardinal of Madrid, the Papal welcome on Thursday and the Stations of the Cross on Friday.  It was the Stations that proved to be a special moment of grace.

We split the group that day.  Half went to an event organized by the Archdiocese of San Juan, PR (many of our group are of Puerto Rican heritage) while the rest of us got a spot along the route planned for
the stations.  We camped out under some tarps we brought for shade. Did I mention the 100 degree days every day?  The next five hours were spent drinking water, praying, playing cards and trying to find food,
water and bathrooms.  As the time for the Stations drew close both groups were assembled (along with dozens of others from Portugal, Canada and Italy who slowly took over much of our space). Then came the
Pope.  We had not realized he would arrive at the square by Popemobile.  But there he was. The energy in the crowd and amongst our youth was awesome to behold.  Every time I thought it could not get any louder or
the pitch of the screaming girls could not get any higher … it got both louder and higher.  As he passed, he blessed us.  It is for moments like this that I spent over a year in preparation and planning, spent
thousands of dollars of fundraising and hours upon hours of time … all for that 30 seconds of mountaintop.  The stations we prayed followed in such a powerful and beautiful manner.   As only the Spanish can do,
they had full sized replicas of the station including statues, clothes and a lot of ornamentation.  The Youth Cross was carried by 15 different groups from groups such as “those who work with persons
suffering AIDs” and “youth from Japan and Haiti” and “unemployed and underemployed” and “Special Needs Youth.”  It was a striking moment of praying the Stations and realizing the Stations are lived in the
crosses we all carry.

The end of our time in Madrid centered around the final Vigil on Saturday night and Papal Mass on Sunday.  Five of us went ahead at 6 a.m. (on 3 ½ hours sleep) to get a spot.  We laid down our ground tarp at
the front of our section near the metal barricades (which became essential first for attaching our overhead tarps for shade and later for shelter when the storms rolled in).  It was a brutal day of intense heat.  We had some experience by then, but nothing could have really prepared us for the heat and the blinding sun and the crowds.  As the sun set we were ready for a beautiful evening of prayer and adoration.
Instead the clouds rolled in.  As an experienced leader I had all our sleeping bags and changes of clothes tarped up when I saw the approaching black clouds.  Then came the winds, pleasant at first after
the heat of the day but in time they approached dangerous levels.  Then came the rain, a driving rain that washed away the dust of the day and soon turned to torrents that knocked out the sound system and
threatened to ruin the event.  I must admit I got scared when the lightning first seen from a distance was all around us.  I’ve been hit by lightning and it is no joke. To see huge branch lighting, strike
after strike, over a field filled with a million people was frightening. 

Through it all the Pope braved on under umbrellas with no sound we could hear until time came for Adoration. 

The rains tapered off to a steady summer shower, the winds died down, the lightning passed and the voice of the Master of Ceremonies came over the speakers asking for silence as we begin Adoration.  To be in a field of youth who had just gone through a near hurricane situation that was now filled with silence … I was awed by the hush … I was lifted up as hundreds of thousands all around us kneeled with our Holy Father in
adoration and devotion.  It was powerful.  As the Pope gave us his final blessing the rains stopped and we knew we had to prepare for the night. 

Adoration

 It was the most amazing tent I’ve ever erected.  We made it out of tarps and twine and twist ties.  We shared it with a Polish group to our right.  The center pole collapsed on me twice in the night, but the tent kept us dry for the morning Mass with the Pope.  It was a Mass which lifted each of us up in Word and Sacrament, a Mass in which we prayed for all our loved ones back home, a Mass that ended with Papal Blessing, a prayer to Mary and an invitation join again in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2013.

Barcelona:  I won’t describe the walk out of Quatros Vientos with a million of our newest friends in Christ, or the press getting on the subway and back to our housing site, or even the overnight train ride from Madrid to Barcelona.  Leave it to say that the exhaustion of all that was rewarded with two days of quiet and rest in that beautiful coastal city.  We were able to visit Sagrada Familiglia, the astounding basilica designed by Gaudi and blessed by Pope Benedict last fall. It will will be fully complete in 2026 but is a marvel of design and beauty even in its present form.  We walked the Ramblas and had a morning swimming in the Mediterranean.  We celebrated Mass in a hotel room: intimately remembering the words and deeds of our Lord.  We ate and
slept and showered and recuperated for the long flight home yesterday.

Home:  My last load of laundry contains only my alb and a hat I got at the last World Youth Day in Sydney Australia.  My clerical shirts hang up awaiting my ironing when I finish typing.   The salt stains are gone
but not forgotten.   My body reminds me of the enormous physical challenges I had as I led the group through these last few weeks. But my heart reminds me of the heights to which we went and the vision of a
Church that is one, holy, catholic and apostolic.  As I finish this reflection I am reminded of the apostles who spent three years with Jesus and wrote Gospels that can be printed on a few pages of the Bible. The experiences that God led us through were more than my meager words can contain.  They were powerful and life changing, they were terrible and even life threatening, they were majestic and extraordinarily human.  It was the World Youth Day.  Over a million youth, one pope and God present through it all.

Fr. Brian McGrath, 8/25/11