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.
After Mass, we began the long trek to Quatro Vientos. We took the bus to the metro and from there traveled across the city to the metro stop of La Pasetas, where the metro stopped and we had to walk. From there it was several miles, following the cow flag as we drew closer to the former military airport where the gathering would be held.
Our section, D3, was on the opposite end of the grounds from the entries, and by the time we entered it was already filling up. But we staked out a spot on the ground, placing our mats and sleeping bags. Around us already were Polish, Spanish, and Portuguese groups.
Slowly the grounds filled, dust rising as thousands of pilgrims trekked through the makeshift streets between sections. Music thumped from the speakers, occasionally broken for announcements or emcee diversions. Within hours, the water had run out and space was becoming scarce in the sections. In the 100-plus heat and boiling sun, the situation was desperate. Already, by only a few hours past midday, people were being carried to the medical stations from fainting and dehydration.
Pilgrims continued to arrive throughout the afternoon. One and a half million was one estimate of the vast crowd that filled every inch of the aerodrome. They packed in, laying their mats and sleeping bags where they could. People filled the chapels that dotted the outside of the grounds, seeking not only shelter but a place to escape the hustle and bustle and pray.
Pilgrims crowd among the grounds at Quatro Vientos at sundown, waiting for the pope to arrive.
And yet, despite the crowd, despite the heat, despite the exhaustion, when word came that the pope was coming, we were on our feet, excited. We watched on the jumbotrons as the pope drew nearer and as he mounted the stage at the front of the aerodrome. We cheered, calling out “Benedicto!” and “Esta es la juventud del papa!”
But the weather was not done with us yet. As the prayer vigil began, threatening clouds were rolling in from behind Quatro Vientas. As the Gospel was proclaimed, the wind began to blow, making it difficult to hear. As the pope began his homily, the rain began to fall, slowly at first and then with great tumultuousness. As it grew stronger, the pope was obscured by umbrellas and his microphone cut out. A source close to the stage, however, said that he continued speaking, though it could not be heard.
And in the pouring rain, sitting on and under tarps, trying to keep our things from being soaked, we prayed. We waited and prayed that the rain would stop, that we would be able to hear the pope’s words, that we could stay and hear his message. But the rain continued relentlessly, the wind blowing fiercely and the thunder and lightening causing terror in the crowd.
Then, some ten minutes later, the rain stopped. The wind died, and the pope spoke to us: “Queridos amigos…” And it was as if the rain had never happened.
As the prayer vigil continued, and as we knelt in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with the pope, the rain tried to fall again, but we did not care. The weather did not matter because we were here, together, in spiritual communion with the pope as we knelt in Adoration and awe of our God. And after the pope had left, and we were left with wet things, wet ground, and the colder temperatures that had moved in after the storm, we might have been discouraged. But we weren’t. We were waiting for tomorrow.
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