World Youth Days - Totus2us

World Youth Day / Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Philippa, from London: "I had the most amazing time. I absolutely loved Mass with the Pope on Sunday morning and it's just incredible when you go to meet two million other young people and you make so many friends. When you're walking around and you're on the trains and you're going from place to place, you meet so many people and you get to swap wrist bands and they add you on Facebook! And it's just amazing when you go to each event to see so many people of your own faith celebrating the same things and to find people who believe the same. Because when you're at home, you might be the only young person in your parish but when you go there you realise there are so many more of you." Becka, from Liverpool: "I think it's amazing the Holy Father because he's the one who obviously guides the Catholic Church and to see him here with us, it just unifies everyone and it's the reason why we're all here together, sort of thing. Obviously I think we can

World Youth Day / Jornada Mundial da Juventude 1989 Santiago. Ernest Williams, from England, speaks about how his time over the summer of 1989 in Medjugorje, at WYD Santiago with JPII and then in Fatima, led to him founding Youth 2000: "We came back early the next morning and it's a funny sight seeing a sea of half a million young people waking up, having slept in sleeping bags outside on the hilltop all night long. We arrived and filmed the Mass that morning. It was a beautiful Mass, visually quite stunning. And what I remember the most, because again it was all in Spanish (and some in French and Italian) the only point where he spoke in English and that's where I was able to register and it really stood out for me, was at the very end when John Paul II sent the young people off back to their countries to begin this mission of evangelization, which was the whole theme. He spoke these words in English: "Dear young people, let us commit our lives to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, her Son, the way, the truth and th

World Youth Day / Jornada Mundial da Juventude 2013 Rio de Janeiro. Claz, from London: "World Youth Day Brazil was spectacular. It was unbelievably blessed … To see somebody opening their heart to Christ's message, to Christ's love was for me absolutely life-changing. So I highly recommend that if you're interested in going to a WYD, try and find a group that goes for the whole two weeks where you've got the first week of missionary work and the second week of general World Youth Day activities, because how this impacts you can really, really change something in your life and allow God to really touch your heart there as well" Pope Francis: "As I express my thanks and bid farewell, my thoughts turn to those who are at the heart of these celebrations: the young people! May God bless you for the beautiful witness of your lives and for your intense and joyful participation over these last few days. Many of you came here as disciples; I have no doubt that all of you will leave as missionaries. Through your joyful

WYD / Jornada Mundial da Juventude 2014. Papa Francisco: "In proclaiming the Beatitudes Jesus invites us to follow him, to walk with Him the way of love, the only one that leads to eternal life. It is not an easy road, yet the Lord assures us of his grace and he never leaves us on our own. Present in our lives are poverty, distress, humiliation, the fight for justice, the fatigue of daily conversion, the struggle to live the call to holiness, persecutions and so many other challenges. But if we open the door to Jesus, if we allow Him to enter into our history, if we share with Him our joys and sorrows, we will experience a peace and a joy that only God, infinite love, can give. .. Jesus calls upon us, dear young people, to respond to his proposal of life, to decide which road we want to walk so as to arrive at true joy. It concerns a great challenge of faith. Jesus was not afraid to ask his disciples if they wanted really to follow him or rather to go by other ways (cf Jn 6, 67). And Simon Peter had the coura

World Youth Day / Jornada Mundial da Juventude 2002 Toronto. JPII: "You are young, and the Pope is old, 82 or 83 years of life is not the same as 22 or 23. But the Pope still fully identifies with your hopes and aspirations. Although I have lived through much darkness, under harsh totalitarian regimes, I have seen enough evidence to be unshakably convinced that no difficulty, no fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal in the hearts of the young. You are our hope, the young are our hope. Do not let that hope die! Stake your lives on it! We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son." Ugo, from Nigeria: "The World Youth Day in Toronto prepared my faith to know, love and cherish God, and just not to be afraid. As our late Pope, Blessed John Paul II said: 'Do not be afraid to say yes to Jesus, do not be afraid to love Jesus, do not be afraid to serve Jesus, do not be afraid

World Youth Day / Jornada Mundial da Juventude 2013 Rio de Janeiro. Music: Go by Ooberfuse. Alex, from the UK: "When I was in Rio, the thing that blew me away was just the way that you could see the Holy Spirit was really working alongside the event. The thing that gave it away completely for me was when we had to change the location of the final event from Campus Fidei to Copacabana beach, and this whole operation happened in a matter of just two or three days. When you think that the people preparing for Campus Fidei for all the pilgrims had been working or months and then they just had to change the location almost overnight. But looking at the way the event turned out, it was a huge success, it was absolutely amazing, you wouldn't have thought that something as huge as that could have changed so quickly." Patrick, from Switzerland: "It was great to be in Rio with Pope Francis and to hear the messages he had for us. He instructed us 'to put Christ on', to not just stay in the institutions or to stay in the

World Youth Day / Jornada Mundial da Juventude 2013 Rio de Janeiro. Paula, from Chile: "I have attended two World Youth Days in my life: Madrid in 2011 and Rio de Janeiro in 2013. Both have been very different experiences and both have been totally life-changing. ..I attended JMJ in Rio as an international volunteer .. I will never forget when Pope Francis visited Our Lady of Aparecida and the devotion, love and kisses he gave not only to many pilgrims gathered there to see him but also to the statue of Our Lady. The way he embraced and carried her with such love and tenderness, like a son looks after his mother, it was a great testimony of love to the Virgin Mary and it was very moving to see." Papa Francisco: "Queridos jovens,.. Primeiramente quero lhes agradecer pelo testemunho de fé que vocês estão dando ao mundo. .. Vocês são verdadeiros heróis!Vejo em vocês a beleza do rosto jovem de Cristo e meu coração se enche de alegria! Lembro-me da primeira Jornada Mundial da Juventude a nível internacional. Foi c

WYD / Jornada Mundial da Juventude 2013 Rio de Janeiro. Papa BXVI: "I desire first of all to renew my invitation to you to participate in this important event. The famous statue of Christ the Redeemer, which overlooks this beautiful Brazilian city, will be the eloquent symbol: his open arms are a sign of the welcome that the Lord will reserve for all those who will come to Him and his heart depicts the immense love that He has for each and every one of you. Let yourselves be attracted by Him! Live this experience of encounter with Christ, together with so many other young people who will converge on Rio for the next World Youth Day! Let yourselves be loved by Him and you will be the witnesses the world needs. I invite you to prepare for World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro by meditating from now on upon the theme of the meeting: “Go and make disciples of all nations!” (cf Mt 28:19). This is the great missionary exhortation which Christ left to the whole Church and which remains actual still today, 2000 years lat

World Youth Day / Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Elena, from Lithuania: "Before coming, I really had a lot of struggles and I felt sad. For me it was very hard to understand how to be joyful - I didn't have joy in my heart. During this trip, I heard the passages from the letters of St Paul, writing about the joy while he was in prison. And for me it was a very, very important message and I really experienced a great joy with millions of people from all over the world." Peter, from London: "My experience of World Youth Day has been fantastic and it has been inspiring to see so many young Catholics in one place. Maybe the best part was being on the trains - just living with the atmosphere, everyone singing songs together and everyone united." Alejandro, from Paraguay: "I think this meeting was a very good experience because I met with a lot of people. I came alone so I made a lot of friends." Stephen, from England: "It was awesome to be at the final vigil and see another 1.5 million young Cathol

World Youth Day / Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Peter, from England: "My experience of World Youth Day has been fantastic and it’s been inspiring to see so many young Catholics in one place. I think maybe the best part was being on the trains, living with the atmosphere: everyone singing songs together and everyone united. If you haven’t been, you should definitely come along. Even if you’re not a Catholic, it’s a fantastic experience.". Meike, from England: "I went to World Youth Day Madrid and it was amazing. The best bit was seeing two million other young Catholics which really makes you realise that you’re not the only one, because often it feels like you’re the only young Catholic in the area." Ernest, from Spain: "We were preparing this World Youth Day from a long time ago. It was really great. I had the opportunity to be so near to the Pope, it really affirmed my vocation. I was so happy. It was so tiring to prepare all the stuff, to live all these things but it really, really matters

World Youth Day / Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Music - We've Been Made One by Darryll Wilson. Ed, from London: "I think it’s very important that young people get together and explore their faith together, as opposed to on their own, because sometimes there are a lot of questions which arise that can remain unanswered. A lot of times people can feel quite isolated, especially when there's no-one to discuss these issues with. So when you have so many people, not just from England but from all over the world, come together and celebrate their faith together, celebrating their love for Christ, Christ's love for us together, especially before the Holy Father who has invited us to go and see him, it's a real boost, it really strengthens you in faith." Charis, from England: "I suppose I didn’t really know what to expect coming to World Youth Day, but I’ve found that I’ve grown a lot closer to God through all the different activities and AMAZING talks there have been. The important thing I thought w

World Youth Day / Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Music - Faith in You by Ooberfuse. Cynthia, from Argentina: "The World Youth Day was amazing and I couldn't believe there were so many young people here and they all came just to see the Pope and they all share the same faith … Having seen all these people here, it was just like a pre, like how it would be in heaven, everyone worshiping and adoring God." James, from England: "If you've never been to World Youth Day before, I'd really recommend it, it's a fantastic experience. It's really an opportunity to deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ, and to meet other young Catholics and really firm yourself up in the faith and learn more about the Catholic faith." Edward, from England: "It was such a fantastic experience to see all these young people here for the Pope, here for the Church, here for Jesus, here for the universal Church. There were so many translation barriers but we all had in common: adoration, the Mass, the rosary, the set praye

World Youth Day / Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Music - Unshakeable by Ooberfuse. Peter, from England: "My experience of World Youth Day has just been an absolutely incredible week of Christian and Catholic love and life and liveliness, and just seeing and meeting so many young people. ..This has showed me just how true and how real the Catholic faith is." Sr Mary Benedicta OP, from Nigeria: "It's been a wonderful experience for me but what stood out in all of this for me was experiencing the universality of the Church, the whole world coming together, united in one faith, in one love, praying with the Holy Father who is the Vicar of Christ." Rob, from the UK: "It's a fantastic place to find out what your vocation is because it's just a week devoted to you and what you want to do with your life and what you want to do with God." Pape Benoît XVI: ""Chers jeunes de langue française, le Christ vous demande aujourd’hui d’être enracinés en Lui et de bâtir avec Lui votre vie sur le roc qu’il est Lu

World Youth Day / Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Fr Francesco, from Italy: "We came here with a group of 400 people from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus and Iraq; we have also Israeli Arabs, not just Palestinian Arabs; we are from the Neocatechumenical Way. So all these youth coming from all these countries in the Middle East are making a very deep way of faith; and so also this way of faith makes possible this communion between us, between our cultures, in Jesus Christ." Lana, from Israel: "The great thing about this is that I really know deep inside that the only thing that unites all these nations from all around the world is Jesus. So that's why I'm very happy to be here because I know that they all came for Jesus Christ; that's why it's very nice to know that we all came for the same goal, to find the same thing." Ferdi, from Israel: "It was a good experience; this is the first time I have come to a World Youth Day and I like it so much. .. The combination between the Arabs and the Isra

Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Teresa, de España: "Lo que me impresiono mas de la JMJ fue ver el carino que tiene el Papa hacia los jovenes y ver pues todo gracias a que era el aniversario de Galicia y ver que tantos jovenes compartimos la misma fe." Miguel, fde España: "Pues siendo voluntario me sorprendio mucho muchisimo lo buena que era la gente de tantos paises que vanian gente de tantos, tantos paises incluso paises con persecusione a los cirtianos tanta gente y fueron todos tan amables y tan agradecidos con los voluntarios, lo bien que nos trataron, asi que da gusto trabajar, porque a pesar de dormir poco, incomodo y tal fue maravilloso trabajar en la JMJ. Tambien me contaron gente muy cercana y amigos y todo pues que se fueron convirtiendo o se acercaron mas a Dios y asi por ejemplo si te vaz para España y tambien para Europa y el mundo entero." Concha, de España: "En este JMJ he descubierto la alegria que hace que todo el mundo sea amable y que nos comportemos todos como una gran famil

World Youth Day / Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Music - We've Been Made One by Darryll Wilson. Cecilia, from Argentina: "The best experience of WYD was to meet people from all over the world, all the young people, and to share with them different experiences and prayers to our God. So for me it was very special. It was my first time at World Youth Day and I'm very happy to be in Spain, everybody was very friendly. We can see our Church, how rich it is and how we can be altogether, if we want to think about our future, our projects and our ideas. So I am very happy to be a Catholic and this was the best experience for me." David, from England: "The thing that really stood out for me was the response to the catecheses sessions from the young people because the questions they asked really revealed their life of prayer, their life of faith, in a way that I'd never expected and to a depth I'd never expected, so that was very encouraging, as was the public devotion you saw all around the city." Dom

World Youth Day / Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Music - Unshakeable by Ooberfuse. Jessica, from England: "The experience for me was life-changing. It was one of the best trips I've ever been on. My favourite part was the very last Mass said by the Pope because it was moving and even though there was a storm, he was so moved by our spirits that he didn't want to leave." Miguel, from England: "My favourite experience from World Youth Day was must definitely have been the overnight vigil with the apocalyptic storm and then Mass on Sunday morning. It was an incredible experience." Kirsty, from England: "For me the best part of World Youth Day is like sharing your faith with other people from all around the world who all believe in Christ because that's absolutely amazing. And you get to talk to them, see what life is like being a Christian in their countries, they show you a bit of their culture and you can share theirs." Papst Benedikt XVI: "Liebe junge Christen deutscher Sprache! Tief in unsere

World Youth Day / Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Music - Faith in You by Ooberfuse. Jerome, from England: "The best part for me of WYD Madrid for me was the adoration with the Pope and the moment when the Pope gave Benediction. It was just incredibly powerful seeing the effect the Holy Father and the Blessed Sacrament had on all the young people there. The witness of over 2 million young Catholics for me was incredible and it has really helped me with my faith." Emily, from England: "The best part of WYD was meeting loads of different Catholics and getting to know other people's cultures, and like just everyone being so happy and celebrating; getting to see the Pope and everyone having the same views on everything. I'd recommend it to anyone because it was just so uplifting." Alithea, from England: "One of the best experiences was the Stations of the Cross.. it was just amazing because there were so many people all out on this road just sat down, like it was such a prayerful atmosphere, everyo

World Youth Day / Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Kieran, from England: "It's been an incredible experience just to see the Church alive with young people filling the streets. One of the most powerful parts for me was hearing the great talks on offer for English speaking pilgrims at the Love and Life Centre.. which encouraged me in my own faith and in my own pursuit of holiness. But what was also great was to hear the words of the Holy Father, encouraging us in perserverance. His words seemed very intentional and thoughtful .. You could tell he had a true care and a true love for the youth.". Magdalen, from China: "One thing that's really important for the purpose of the WYD is that the Church has intended to implant the young people with the vision and the responsibility for the new evangelisation, which is exactly what our society needs right now. …Being part of acknowledging the larger purpose of the Church really is something I keep very close to my heart and it's important that we carry th

World Youth Day / Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud 2011 Madrid. Matt, from Wales: "However well formed we are, we can often feel alone if there's no-one around us, so to see that at WYD was for me the best thing I think." Maria and Rosio, from Madrid:"The adroation on Saturday night when 2 million young people came to adoration. You looked backwards and saw all these people kneeling down. It was amazing because sometimes we forget that the centre of World Youth Day is to turn our heads and our hearts to Jesus Christ and so it was amazing to see 2 million young people worshipping God there, present in the Eucharist. I think that was the most impressive moment of JMJ. And also seeing that against all the weather conditions, people were still there, worshipping God and singing songs and when the weather was worst, people were singing louder." Jordi from Catalonia, Spain:"Bueno pues me gustó mucho todo el ambiente que había de los jóvenes de todo el mundo, y que todo el mundo pudo ver que ni la lluvia ni nada pu