WORLD YOUTH DAY 08, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

DIFFERENT WORDS, SAME SONG

Hundreds of flags- some proudly flying on poles, some tied around necks- scattered throughout a swarming crowd of thousands, people from every corner of the world forming a cultural montage before a backdrop of the splendour of the city of Sydney. The air is filled with the never ceasing incomprehensible buzz of several languages being thrown out at once, always mingling with some exotic or exciting song or chant accompanied by drums, tambourines or festive clapping. The excitable clamour is often punctured by loud choruses of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!” or the universal chant of “Benedicto!” Sometimes when walking along with the thousands of pilgrims, one group will begin to sing a world renowned song such as the “Ave Maria,” and before you knew it, there are over two hundred people, all of different nations, marching along and singing as one.

Everywhere you turn there are eager faces rushing towards complete strangers, who would in turn grin, and welcome this random person who they had never met in their life, but who seems as overjoyed to see them as if they are old friends. Language barriers are not a problem as people exchange badges, souvenirs, hats, jackets and flags before a picture together, a hug and a wave goodbye, probably never to see each other again.

The fervour of the event infects everyone present with an overwhelming sense of ease, and of belonging. Everyone feels comfortable; able to talk to people who they wouldn't normally talk to or to do things they wouldn't normally do. This seemingly infectious spontaneity could probably attribute to the vast range of strange yet appealing activities and behaviour. Groups will casually stop in the middle of the street and begin some exuberant dance; normally introverted people suddenly break into song, and there are even a couple of extremely keen girls (not mentioning any names) who have started walking around with signs saying “Free Hugs.” This action is welcomed and accepted with just as much enthusiasm by the other pilgrims who rush over to meet these crazy Aussie girls. Pretty soon, the girls are swamped by the amount of people who are approaching them, jubilantly overwhelmed by the sense of passion and unity it provokes, and are delighted when the act begins to catch on, causing scores of people to make signs of their own and spread throughout World Youth Day.

Just when you believe that the experience cannot become any more amazing, the night arrives. As soon as the darkness hits Sydney , the opera house and the harbour bridge making recognisable silhouettes against the sunset and the entire city becomes completely transformed, all in addition to the glittering jewel of light that the city has already become. Coloured lights suddenly spring up at the bases of trees and cliffs, several spotlights now constantly move over the night sky and everywhere you go, you can hear loud music emitting from the various concert events dotted everywhere throughout the city. It is impossible to navigate your way through the multitudes without losing your friends and everywhere you can see chains of people, all holding onto each others backpacks, cutting their way through the crowds.

You are unsure exactly what to do on first arriving at these outdoor concerts, but it isn't long before you're dancing, singing and chatting with people from Germany, Canada, France, Spain and of course other Aussies. Spending time with so many different cultures, you find yourself focusing not on your differences but on your similarities, which is an amazing feeling.

But among all these unbelievable events, nothing, absolutely nothing, can compare to the internationally shared devotion and sheer adoration for the Pope. On the day of His arrival, people proceed to swarm along the barriers at Barangaroo, cameras in hand, necks craning- some people even standing on other peoples' shoulders. The tension is obvious, and when His Holiness finally arrives, the roar of the crowd is deafening, the sheer passion of so many Christians for their Pope, awe-inspiring. When the cheering has finally died down and the last shreds of “Benedicto” have faded away, Pope Benedict XVI commences to speak to the staggering amount of people, who all have their faces turned adoringly up at him. When he speaks, you can see people hanging onto his every word, and when he raises both hands towards the crowd, they yell and cheer in unison, as though the man before them is the most revered rock star in existence.

Moreover, not one day goes by where the international song “Receive the Power” is not played. As soon as the first notes are emitted, everything seems to stop; friends, and sometimes strangers gather together, arms around each others' shoulders as they sing, all in different languages, but all to the same universal tune. I'll never forget my experiences at world youth day, but I think that this one action will stay with me above all: the swaying under the stars arm in arm with my friends and surrounded by the entire world, all with different words, but all for the same song.

Emma Sakowski

World Youth Day 2008 was an experience for me that will never be forgotten. I was so excited when I found out I was going to be a part of this once in a life time opportunity, as I had nearly missed the chance to go as my school didn't want yr 12 students to attend, as they would have missed school.

My journey began when I attended the opening mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in April of this year. It made me realise that my pilgrimage to World Youth Day had begun and it was going to be big. World Youth Day became more real to me when we welcomed the French Pilgrims from Toulouse to our parish on Friday 11 th of July. Some of these young pilgrims had never been on a plane, let alone a journey that took them 3 days to get to a destination with a shower and bed. With them we celebrated mass and liturgies together and gave praise for the beliefs that brought us together. Our pilgrims left on Tuesday 15 th of July for the next part of their journey. My departure to World Youth Day didn't begin until Friday the 18 th of July, even though my trip to Sydney did not take as long as the Toulousian's. On my pilgrimage I learnt that on a pilgrimage you expect the unexpected. Saturday was a new day on the World Youth Day pilgrimage. Blue skies, sunny, with warm weather was just perfect for a stroll across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Randwick Racecourse, being surrounded by people from everywhere over the world. We reached Randwick which was filled with many people of all ages. The atmosphere was breath taking and it was an indescribable feeling of what I saw before my eyes. There was reverence; there was excitement and friendships between strangers, and the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. As the night grew near and cold, we prayed with the Pope at the Vigil and then bedded down in our sleeping bags to keep warm. The next morning dawned, filled with the excitement that I would be attending mass said by “THE” Pope with 100s of 1000s of people from all over the world. During the mass we offered those around us the sign of peace but peace was already with us. There could never be a rock concert as big as this with such “peace”. When mass was over my school group headed for the airport and then home. We landed tired from our pilgrimage but full of life and hope. Our WYD 08 pilgrimage has ended but our journey continues with strong friendships that have been built, and I can't wait to be a part of the next World Youth Day pilgrimage in 2011 to Madrid , Spain.

Molly Dalziel

The highlight of the 2008 World Youth Day events for myself was the pilgrimage walk. This involved thousands upon thousands of people walking approx 10 kilometres from Milsons Point train station, across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, through Darling Harbour, past Central Station and through the city streets towards Randwick Racecourse. At 6 am the first trainload of people stepped off the platform and proceeded to walk what would be an important journey in their spirituality. One journey that would be, for many, their first, and for many, their last. These few hundred that started the walk would be followed by a flood of near 400 thousand that would start, continue and end the walk a various times throughout the whole day. Upon our walk we saw many thousands of flags from all over the world, joined in many songs and, even if we couldn’t understand the language, were able to join in clapping or dancing.
After much support and enjoyment of being with each other and those around us we arrived at Randwick Racecourse at about 2.30pm. Already thousands had set up sleep stations for the night. I was amazed at how many people were continually flooding onto the grounds. This flood of pilgrims did not slow until about 7.pm.

Marlon Young-Healy