A life-changing, faith-affirming trip to Madrid, Spain

 The right words to describe this pilgrimage would be “life changing.”

After two days of traveling, we finally arrived in Madrid, Spain. After a whole year of preparation, fundraising, and chaos with how much more we needed to raise, it just felt so surreal to be landing in Madrid, so far away from home.

Everything just seemed so big when we made our way through the city. As the day came close to an end, there was an opening Mass celebrated at the Plaza de Cibeles. That was the first time we saw so many young people. Crowds and more crowds gathered together from all over the world to see World Youth Day start. It was such a great feeling to be among the crowd and realize, “Wow, I’m actually here.” Millions of people-children, youth, adults, and even the elderly-came to a chosen place to share with one another their faith in God.

Another amazing event was welcoming His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. We waited along the road with volunteers from our parish to welcome Pope Benedict XVI as he arrived from the Barajas Airport. Everyone had confetti in his or her hands and flags waving in the air. We waited for two hours. Police came passing by just before Pope Benedict XVI, and then we saw the Popemobile zoom past us in the blink of eye. Even though it was just for a few seconds, at least we were able to get that close to him. His Holiness then had a gathering with us at the Plaza de Cibeles. People on the roads and streets would yell out “Benedicto” or “Viva El Papa!”

Catechesis was arranged by language groups. Ours was located at the Palacio de Los Deportes. There were so many people that we were asked to sit at our seats because more youth were just waiting outside the arena to make their way in. We heard bishops and others share with us their stories about vocation and their faith in God. They had concerts, activities, and after all of that, we still had Mass.

The days went by quickly, but we still had so much to do. The Pope led the Way of the Cross, which we watched from the Plaza de Colon. Somehow, the streets just get more and more crowded no matter how early you come. The Pope also celebrated a great vigil with the youth at the Cuatro Vientos Airfield. That was where we would spend the night with all the other young pilgrims. You’d see crowds of people walking through the streets, singing joyful songs out loud.

Although World Youth Day has come to an end, it’s just the beginning of each and every pilgrim. This experience is one that I will never forget. From hours of riding the metro to hours of endless walking, everything was all worth it. On the day of the World Youth Day’s closing Mass, you begin to realize the reason for coming to this big event. No matter where you come from or who you are, we all came here for one reason: to share our faith and belief in God. We may all look different, but we are just the same as any human being on this earth. Even though it lasted only two short weeks, the memories and events in Spain will always be with me. To think back, I realize what a great experience it was. I want to thank everyone who helped me get to this wonderful event. As for me, I encourage many of the youth here to try and make it to the next World Youth Day in Brazil. It’s such a great and life changing experience. Muchas gracias por tu apoyo! Hasta luego! (Leel Anne Yarobwemal)