Check out Catholic Herald photos from WYD 2011

Madison diocesan pilgrims pose for a group photo.

The full range of photos from the Catholic Herald‘s coverage of the Madison Diocesan Pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2011 are online at Madison Catholic Herald’s Photo Site.

World Youth Day is done

Thanks to all for reading this blog. It has been wonderful to share the stories of the Diocese of Madison pilgrim experience to World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid. I apologize for the scattered nature of the posts; it has been difficult to access the internet while abroad with the pilgrims. Note for WYD-Rio de Janiero: either stay in a place with internet access, close to the international media center, or purchase a 4G wireless web card.

I will be loading photos and videos as quickly as I can, and will post here when the full collection is online. We will be following up in the Catholic Herald print edition with a section covering the many aspects of this World Youth Day experience, and a slideshow of photos and videos from the event.

Thanks again, and God bless!

Closing World Youth Day … and waiting for the next

Pilgrims pray before the beginning of Mass.

The morning of the final day of World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid dawned fair. A few clouds at first, but the weather was otherwise perfect. It would warm up significantly, as it did every morning, but so would we.

After the night before, we were ready for this Mass. The night before, the emcee had said that the pope wanted to come through the crowd in his popemobile, to greet all of us. We were excited — another chance to see the pope at close range! So long as we could clear the avenues between sections (a challenge indeed!), the pope would come through.

Quatro Vientos and the four winds

Fr. John Putzer stands behind the makeshift altar at the sports center in Velillas de San Antonio.

Saturday was the day on which hundreds of thousands of pilgrims would begin to gather at Quatro Vientos Aerodrome in the southwest of Madrid, where we would gather with the pope for a prayer service, Adoration, and, the following morning, Mass.

The day began early, with the priests of our group celebrating Mass. We gathered in the courtyard on the side of the sports center, where a temporary altar (a folding table with an altar cloth, crucifix, and world youth day candles) was set up. The pilgrims sat and knelt on the hard bricks as we began the day in prayer and celebration of the sacrifice of our Lord.

Taking the faith home with us

Archbishop Timothy Dolan welcomes pilgrims at the beginning of cathechesis at the Love and Life Center.

Despite arriving home very late the night before, on Friday morning we were up and out the door by 9 a.m. to make our way to the Life and Love Center in Madrid for the morning’s catechesis. We had heard it would be delivered by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York and former primate of our neighboring Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

It was an easy bus ride in to Madrid, where we caught the metro. As usual, it was packed with the many pilgrims from around the world, each group going to their own destination.

At the Love and Life Center, we arrived just as Archbishop Dolan was making his way through the crowd at the front entrance, pumping hands and smiling as he was greeted enthusiastically by young Catholics.

To see the pope

Pope Benedict XVI comes past the Madion Diocesan pilgrims in his popemobile.

On Thursday, Aug. 18, Pope benedict XVI arrived in Madrid. He flew into the airport, where he was greeted by officials and a delegation of youth. From there, he was to come into Madrid proper, where he would be welcomed by the youth of World Youth Day and celebrate a short prayer service.

For those of us in the crowd, this was our first opportunity this WYD — for many, the first opportunity in person — to see the pope. The experience was anticipated greatly.

Catechesis at the Palacio De Deportes

The Love and Life Centre in Madrid, a location for English-speaking pilgrims of World Youth Day 2011, is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the Sisters of Life.

In the morning on August 17, the pilgrims headed out for catechesis at the Palacio De Deportes, where the Knights of Columbus and the Sisters of Life are hosting the Love and Life Centre.

The vast center can hold 12,000 people — a number that was reached long before the catechesis with Cardinal George Pell began. The cardinal and current archbishop of Sydney, Australia, spoke on the topic of faith and reason.

“We have two alternatives: that the universe was created by chance, or that the universe was created through supreme intelligence,” he said.

The kindness of strangers in Madrid

 

Pilgrims from Hong Kong, China, cheer as they and hundreds of thousands of others walk to the Opening Mass of World Youth Day in the center of Madrid.

I wrote yesterday of the wonderfully warm nature of the volunteers that welcomed us into our home-away-from-home in Velillas de San Antonio, but that story today expanded.

This morning we got a late start, heading out on the bus around 10:30 a.m. following breakfast. When we arrived in Madrid, we headed directly for the Plaza de Cibeles, where the opening Mass was to take place at 8 p.m. this evening. It was a large, open plaza completely cordoned off already from traffic, and as we arrived stands were still being erected and large screens placed.

In a shady spot on the north side of the plaza, we set up camp and dispersed into various groups for the day. Some pilgrims visited the Prado, the large and famous art museum that, during World Youth Day, is hosting an exhibit called “Images of Christ.” Others sought Eucharistic Adoration, and a few went to sightsee and perhaps do a little shopping. Fr. Eric Nielsen stayed behind on our little grassy spot to stake it out in preparation for the Mass.

Arriving in Madrid and mobile phones

Welcome to Madrid! Today, August 15, the feast of the Assumption, is the day the majority of the pilgrims from the Diocese of Madison are arriving to begin World Youth Day 2011.

My husband and I arrived from Paris early enough for Mass at the church here in Vilella de San Antonio, where we experienced not only our first Spanish Mass, but also the warmth of the volunteers’ welcome. My Spanish is a bit rusty, but several of the volunteers speak English, so communication was not a problem.

Shortly after Mass, Fr. Paul Arinze, the director of vocations for the Diocese of Madison and the leader of the diocesan pilgrimage, arrived by taxi. He was quickly greeted officially by the local WYD leader, and we set off to set down our nonessential baggage.

The three of us, the first pilgrims to arrive here, were shown to the municipal sports center, where we will be spending the next few nights. Showers, bathroom stalls, and plenty of room for sports and games. Fr. Paul, however, discovered immediately upon putting down his bags that he had forgotten his phone in the taxicab he had taken from Madrid.

Luckily, Pepe, one of the wonderful volunteers we have so far met here in Velillas, was a driver with the same company Fr. Pauls had used and he called and soon got the taxicab turned around and headed over to drop the phone off with Fr. Paul. When it arrived, he was thankful to discover no one had called in its absence: no lost travelers, trying to find their way to Velillas!

However, we still had to get a SIM card for him, so it was off to the shops. This being the Assumption, there were a number of stores closed, but at last we located a shop off the main street where Fr. Paul could purchase a SIM card. The adventures did not end there, though, as Fr. Paul’s passport did not work as registration for the card. Pepe to the rescue again! Afterward, however, he did comment that he was hoping he wouldn’t have to do the same for all of the travelers that arrived. The government might get suspicious if 79 SIM cards were suddenly registered under the same name.

Soon, seminarians will begin to arrive in Velillas, followed by the group coming from Zaragoza, who were sent on their way this morning following Mass. The Camino group, fresh from their walking pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostelo on the Way of St. James, will be arriving on August 16. All together, we will begin World Youth Day at the opening Mass held in Madrid, where we 79 pilgrims will meet the hundreds of thousands, perhaps more, who will be sharing the next few days with us.

Pictures to come soon! We’ll keep in touch with photos, videos, and blog posts.

Days in the Diocese begin

The diocesan group began Days in the Diocese today. They are being welcomed by the Diocese of Zaragoza, located east of Madrid. From there, they will travel on to meet up with the rest of the diocesan pilgrims at World Youth Day on August 15.