WORDS & PHOTO Jessica Gadd
Jessica Gadd reports from World Youth Day in Cologne on what to expect in 2008
Perched atop the hill above a crowd of one million pilgrims, the World Youth Day stage looked like a giant altar or, according to some, a UFO.
This irreverent comment epitomised the blend of seriousness and fun at World Youth Day (WYD) 2005. Held every two or three years (this year in Cologne, Germany, from August 15–21), WYD is a week of religious and cultural activities leading up to an overnight vigil and Mass with the Pope. The event aims to bring young people from all around the globe together to share and celebrate their Catholic faith.
'This is bigger than the UN! You can sit down at a table and never know what language will be spoken', says Sacha Bermudez-Goldman sj, who led a group of 30 young Australians to WYD. 'There is such richness in this international mix. Though we worship in different ways, and though some other methods of worship may bring discomfort, we develop a greater understanding and acceptance of where people find God. And we discover we have so much in common.'
It is hard to describe what it feels like to be a part of something like WYD. There is the exhilaration, the immense scale of it all, and the sense of being a part of something truly global—which can be hard to see sometimes in the dwindling numbers in our church pews. Then there is the challenging side, the language barrier, the time spent waiting in queues, walking for long stretches with blisters and heavy packs, sleeping on the floor (or in the rain!), and the lack of facilities such as toilets and showers.
'Being a pilgrim takes you away from your comfort zone', Sacha says. 'You need to get away from routine to look inside. It's not so much about getting there but what happens on the way. Being a pilgrim brings out the best in people, you help and support each other, you build a sense of community together.'
Adelaide pilgrim Rowan Dignam agrees. 'For me the most important part of World Youth Day was the sense of community. Suddenly, something that was previously confined to school halls and the church down the road becomes something that's shared by people from all over the world. I'm standing in Mass next to my new Spanish friend and saying "peace be with you" in Arabic to my Lebanese friend on the other side. That's something you just don't get at home.'
Katie Cook, from Brisbane, came to WYD for the international experience, and that is certainly what she got. 'The Lebanese are almost as crazy as the Spanish, they like to have fun. The girls were into shopping, the boys sang a lot. The Turkish people always knew what to do, the Australians always found the beer gardens. It was such a cross-cultural experience. Despite the differences, I learned how similar we all are.'
The people of Cologne were wonderful hosts, going to great lengths to make the pilgrims comfortable, despite the lack of space available to accommodate over 80,000 visitors to their city.
Melbourne pilgrim Gabriel Gill said, 'I was impressed that we could come together in Germany, on such a large scale, for something like this.'
For Gabriel, the Pope's homily about the resurrection and transformation was symbolic of this journey. While he didn't find the homily especially inspiring, or anything that 'would draw people to the church', he was pleased to be there for Mass with Pope Benedict.
'But the church has to take a hard look at itself', he says. 'I can't believe that they would give the Eucharist to [Zimbabwe president] Mugabe and not somebody who is divorced or gay!'
Though we were warned to keep it quiet, the worst-kept secret in Cologne was that Sydney would host the next World Youth Day. Other pilgrims would greet Australians with, 'See you in Sydney in 2008!' Though we gave vague answers, no one was fooled. Looking ahead to the next World Youth Day, Cardinal Pell was reported to have said: 'If we can't bring 200,000 young Australians to the world, maybe we can bring the world to them.' I hope we can share as generously as the people of Cologne.
Jessica Gadd is the former editor of Australian Catholics.
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