“Glastonbury with God”
Krakov, Poland – World Youth Day, a massive gathering of Catholic youth from all across the planet that’s sometimes been dubbed the “Catholic Woodstock,” took place in Krakow, Poland, July 25-31. It has brought together what organizers estimated to be two million people for six days of music, prayer and spiritual master classes. Nearly 50 cardinals, 800 bishops and 20,000 priests from around the world were nominated to participate.
That was the news I heard at Wroclaw just two days before my wife and I were preparing to leave for Krakow for the last 3 days of our journey started in the Baltic States. Even Pope Francis was coming – and it happened the very day of our arrival – fact which otherwise was immediately noticed by countless cords police and the frequent stops for checks which have strengthened as we approached Krakow.
On Wednesday until the last day, we experienced an explosion of bliss and hope. There was a certain aura of a rock star about Pope Francis throughout the gatherings.
The young people gathered while sacrificing their comfort, walking miles from venue to venue. They made the hike carrying backpacks and sleeping bags, since they have spent the night in the field. The presence of police and military throughout the week was palpable but never overweening or distracting, and every night, late into the night, young revelers filled up the squares and parks of the city. As opposed to other scenarios of large-scale mobilizations one might imagine, crime rates in Krakow plummeted, garbage collections declined as these young pilgrims picked up after themselves, and locals were left smiling and delighted with the positive energy coursing through the city.
Finally, these young people exuded a different vision for the future of humanity, one based on a global solidarity and embracing religion not as the problem but as the source of the solution.
World Youth Day is regarded as a place for young people to explore their vocations towards the priesthood or religious life. Faith, family, justice and mercy were among the themes this year. That might sound like hollow rhetoric, but I had been there and what I saw was a real, living, beating heart of a youth army – an army dedicated not to violence, but to hope.
“Glastonbury with God”
Krakov, Poland – World Youth Day, a massive gathering of Catholic youth from all across the planet that’s sometimes been dubbed the “Catholic Woodstock,” took place in Krakow, Poland, July 25-31. It has brought together what organizers estimated to be two million people for six days of music, prayer and spiritual master classes. Nearly 50 cardinals, 800 bishops and 20,000 priests from around the world were nominated to participate.
That was the news I heard at Wroclaw just two days before my wife and I were preparing to leave for Krakow for the last 3 days of our journey started in the Baltic States. Even Pope Francis was coming – and it happened the very day of our arrival – fact which otherwise was immediately noticed by countless cords police and the frequent stops for checks which have strengthened as we approached Krakow.
On Wednesday until the last day, we experienced an explosion of bliss and hope. There was a certain aura of a rock star about Pope Francis throughout the gatherings.
The young people gathered while sacrificing their comfort, walking miles from venue to venue. They made the hike carrying backpacks and sleeping bags, since they have spent the night in the field. The presence of police and military throughout the week was palpable but never overweening or distracting, and every night, late into the night, young revelers filled up the squares and parks of the city. As opposed to other scenarios of large-scale mobilizations one might imagine, crime rates in Krakow plummeted, garbage collections declined as these young pilgrims picked up after themselves, and locals were left smiling and delighted with the positive energy coursing through the city.
Finally, these young people exuded a different vision for the future of humanity, one based on a global solidarity and embracing religion not as the problem but as the source of the solution.
World Youth Day is regarded as a place for young people to explore their vocations towards the priesthood or religious life. Faith, family, justice and mercy were among the themes this year. That might sound like hollow rhetoric, but I had been there and what I saw was a real, living, beating heart of a youth army – an army dedicated not to violence, but to hope.
