Young pilgrims from Albany Diocese amazed, inspired by World Youth Day

Ashley Baker saw God everywhere in Cologne, Germany: in the smiles of strangers, in the laughter of her friends and in the stillness of prayer.

She was among more than two dozen young adults and teens from the Albany Diocese who attended World Youth Day in Cologne two weeks ago. They came from St. Mary's parish in Nassau, from the campus ministry program at SUNY/Oneonta and Hartwick College, and from St. Joseph/St. John's Church in Rensselaer.

"It was amazing. I don't even know how to explain it," said Ashley, a parishioner of St. Mary's, listing such things as "the friendly smile of someone that realized you were carrying the same credentials you were, even if you didn't speak the same language...just meeting people...a tip of the hat...a hello."

Dachau visit

The Rensselaer group spent eight days touring Germany, said Kaitlyn Smith, 17, who was particularly struck by a boat ride on the Rhine River, eating German food and seeing the remnants of the Berlin Wall.

The most sobering experience, she said, was a visit to the Dachau concentration camp, where Jews were exterminated by the Nazis.

"It was sad, but it was something I wanted to see since sixth grade," she noted. "It was a quiet experience. It was something I'll never forget. It gives you chills."

Missed connections

The Oneontans' trip got off to a rocky start when half of the group -- split into two flights -- arrived at the airport to discover their plane was delayed, according to Hartwick College student Erin Johnston.

Then the two halves missed each other at the Cologne train station at which they were supposed to meet. Three of the students also lost their luggage on the flight and arrived with only what they had in their carry-on bags.

Ms. Johnston and the other collegians chalked it up to being "part of the pilgrimage."

Waiting time

The pilgrims traveled around Cologne "carrying our lives on our backs," Ms. Johnston said, including shoes, changes of clothing, pilgrim packages and matching tie-dyed shirts.

Everywhere they went, they had to wait. "You had to wait to get the train, wait to get your food, wait to see the Pope. Was it worth it? Yeah!" reported Sarah Hasemeier, a student at Hartwick.

A tardy train dropped them at St. Agnes parish in Cologne too late for the Taize community prayer. But, said Ms. Johnston, the pilgrims decided to pray by themselves. She remembers beginning to pray and being so engrossed that she didn't notice when her friends left the church.

"We had so many stressful things happen to us over the week, we had a lot to pray for," she said. "It was the first time in my life that I'd been that deep in prayer. It was a spiritual journey."

Inspiration

For two days, the Oneonta students attended catechetical sessions taught by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee and Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria, who is prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.

Ms. Hasemeier found herself inspired by the cardinal's talk on the Eucharist.

A trip to the Rhine Stadium for an international festival stirred the pilgrims into dancing and singing to the beat of Chinese drumming, the music of Christian artists from around the world and encouragement from soccer star Pele, who attended the event.

New friends

Over the week, the pilgrims had the chance to talk to other Catholic young adults from around the world. The Newman Club, for example, struck up a friendship with a group of Namibian pilgrims, who were calling the same parish center home for the week. The two groups stuck together throughout the week.

"To meet somebody from such a different place and spend so much time with them was really good," said Ms. Hasemeier. "They were really fun. They had a different perspective on life because they were from a different culture, and I found that very interesting. Their attitude was very good: they never complained about anything. They found the really positive things to look for."

To the Namibians, she said, "everything could be a good time."

With the pope

At Marienfeld, where the closing Mass with Pope Benedict XVI was celebrated, the contingents from the Albany Diocese found themselves camping out about a football field's distance from the main stage. They joined as many as a million other people who came to celebrate an evening vigil and morning papal Mass.

As the Rensselaer contingent walked to Marienfeld, they linked arms to make a human chain so they wouldn't get lost in the river of young people streaming down the streets of a Cologne suburb towards the gathering spot. Kaitlyn said that they hoisted their American flag and sang songs most of the way.

"Little kids were running down the streets with us and meeting the people on the way," reported Emily White, 19, from St. Joseph/St. John's parish. "There were people hanging out the window, chanting everyone on. They were coming out with their hoses to squirt us all down and handing out water."

Kaitlyn was struck at the sight of "millions of people, everybody waving their flags, and being really proud of their faith and their country," she said. "It was unbelievable. It's really great to join together with everybody in celebrating the Catholic faith. It was really tiring, obviously, but an awe-inspiring experience for there to be hundreds of thousands of people who have that in common!"

Papal encounter

All eyes were on Pope Benedict when he arrived to cheers and chanting, but his predecessor's mark was still felt, said the teens.

Since most of the events had been planned before John Paul II's death in April, his speeches and messages to the youth were printed in booklets given with their pilgrim package. His name was also chanted during the vigil and papal Mass.

"So many people were thrilled whenever Benedict said [John Paul's] name,"said Ms. White. "He's very different from John Paul but still a very good pope. We were all very relieved that Benedict decided to go on with World Youth Day."

Ms. Johnston believes that the new pope had "big shoes to fill. He's doing a good job at keeping up the traditions. John Paul seemed more like the rock star, a celebrity. You get that with Benedict, but I'm not sure if it'll ever be the same."

Ms. Baker called Pope Benedict "amazing" and reported that "he said some wonderful things. He's an amazing man, a great speaker, and knew exactly what to say to the young people. He talked a lot about the importance of going to Mass on Sunday. That struck me and all of the people I went with. He talked about it with such vigor and enthusiasm."

Memories

As she prepares for a new academic year at the University of Vermont, Ms. White said she will always remember her Cologne experience.

Many of the pilgrims reported that their World Youth Day experience reinforced their Catholic faith, and that being in a massive crowd of a young Catholics fortified their religious identity.

A small group of ten from Oneonta, said Ashley, found out by going to World Youth Day that a tiny community is part of "a large community. It affirms that you're not the only person believing in this."

Sometimes, "when you're a teenager in today's world, it's hard to be strong in faith," Kaitlyn explained. "I did pray a lot, and I normally don't. I had this whole experience of feeling closer to God."

She plans to assemble her photographs and memories in a scrapbook to show others so she can "share my thoughts and ideas. It's pride in country and pride in faith, and that's something you don't always get to experience. You can watch it on TV, but I was there."

What's next?

Ms. Johnston, who was inspired to read the Bible more, said that World Youth Day served as a comfort in a world in which college students committed to Catholicism can seem "like a minority."

"You can have a lot of common with somebody, even if it doesn't seem like it at first," she said. "Sometimes, it seemed like everything was going wrong, but, in the end, God had a plan. Everything worked out well."

Ms. Hasemeier, who hopes to go to World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, in 2008, said that it is "hard for me sometimes to do what I want in following God. Being there with so many young people gave me new hope. We were all Catholic, and we were all praising God. It gave me a lot of hope for our generation."

For Ashley, WYD was more than just a pilgrimage; it was a life-changing experience.

"We were at Mass with Cardinal Arinze," she recalled. "Between the cardinal's words, the music they were playing and everything, I got an overwhelming sense of peace. In the past year or so, I've been giving serious thought into vocations. After that experience, it is something that I am going to pursue.

"We were singing 'Here I Am, Lord,' which I had sung so many times as a kid; and, for some reason this time, it hit me. It was as if I was sitting right there, saying to God, 'Here I am.'"

(Cologne-area parishes hosted WYD pilgrims from the Albany Diocese. The Rensselaer girls stayed in a convent with groups from Germany and Austria; the Rensselaer boys were housed in parishioners' homes. The Oneontans called the floor of a parish center their home. Throughout WYD, souvenirs were traded. Especially in demand were blue hats worn by the Italian contingent. Erin Johnston and others brought "I Love New York" key chains to trade and, in the process, met young adults from Italy, Poland and other countries. Along with a hat, Sarah Hasemeier traded for a pin of an Incan man and woman, and a bracelet that was hand-made by an Italian pilgrim.)

(9/1/05) [[In-content Ad]]