Report and pics by Stanley D'Cruz, Sydney
Daijiworld Media Network - Sydney (GA)

Sydney, Jul 25: A group of pilgrims from Mangalore diocese attended the recently-concluded World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney, Australia.  The group was led by Fr Anil D’Souza, director of Indian Catholic Youth Movement in Mangalore and consisted of Naveen Noronha, Kiran Vas, Austin Crasta, Pradeep Saldanha and Loveena Pinto.  The group was coordinated by the Catholic Bishop’s Conference in New Delhi.

The pilgrims first went to Auckland, New Zealand and stayed for a week there, before flying into Sydney and transferred immediately to Bathurst in the home-stay programme for another few days.

The pilgrims finally arrived in Sydney just before the WYD week and were accommodated at St Patrick’s College at Campbeltown for the rest of the duration.  In spite of the extremely busy schedule of the pilgrims and complicated logistics involved we did manage to meet the Mangalorean pilgrims and feted them to dinner after the conclusion of the WYD.  A small group of Mangaloreans met at the residence of Stanley D’Cruz, president of the Mangalorean Catholic Association of Sydney (MCAS).

The pilgrims participated in all the events of the WYD programme.  The highlights of the programme were the opening mass by Pope Benedict XVI attended by about 250,000 pilgrims form 168 countries at Barangaroo, the main site of the WYD.  This was preceded by a spectacular arrival into Barangaroo  by his the Pope led by a fleet of 25 cruise boats starting from Rosebay, passing through the iconic Sydney harbour bridge and into Barangaroo.

Next was the Way of the Cross, which was performed live.  The first station commenced at the forecourt of St Mary’s Cathedral.  Jesus broke bread and gave to his disciples.  The Pope made a brief appearance and said the opening prayer.  The Way of the Cross then proceeded to different iconic locations of Sydney including, the Domain, Art Gallery, Opera House, Darling Harbour and finally to Barangaroo for the final stations where Jesus was finally crucified.

Another key event was the pilgrimage starting from the Sydney harbour bridge to Randwick race course,   the site of the final mass.  This nine kilometer pilgrimage was performed by the pilgrims with a spirit of faith, cheerfulness and a sign of solidarity.  The pilgrims after reaching Randwick slept under the stars the entire night prior to the Sunday morning final WYD mass.

The final mass was the culminating point of the week-long programme.  Nearly 400,000 assembled for this final Papal Mass, which was concelebrated by about 30 cardinals and hundreds of bishops and priests.  A group of adults and children were also confirmed by the Pope.  The Pope made two rounds in his Pope mobile which enabled the faithful to have a close glimpse of the Holy Father.

Other WYD activities consisted of catechesis at about 300 Sydney locations, youth festivals, youth bands, workshops, exhibitions, vocations expo all over Sydney

WYD celebrations transformed Sydney into a vibrant, colourful and faith atmosphere and truly showed to the world that Catholic faith is still very much alive and dynamic among the youth of the world.