http://www.cafod.org.uk/resources/youth-leaders special focus http://www.cafod.org.uk/resources/youth-leaders/panels/special-focus/wyd-blog-feed http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2008/07/24/wyd-the-day-itself/ I think I’m getting old, as I wasn’t up for the all-night party some of the people around me were determined to enjoy. Although it certainly was not the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had (apart from the constant singing and dancing, the temperatures dropped to a chilly 8oC), there was chance for forty winks before [...] http://cafod.wordpress.com/?p=496 http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2008/07/23/wyd-all-over%e2%80%a6/ Sunday saw the culmination of our time in Sydney, with the actual “World Youth Day” - 400,000 pilgrims gathered together at a transformed racecourse for the closing Mass with Pope Benedict. This was the biggest gathering of one people at any one time in modern Australian history, with another 100,000 locals joining the 300,000 pilgrims who [...] http://cafod.wordpress.com/?p=489 http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2008/07/23/wyd-corroboree/ An increasing respect for the indigenous people of Australia has been noticeable during WYD. This hasn’t always been the case, and it took the newly elected Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, to finally apologise for the treatment of the indigenous people in the past earlier this year. This was a significant enough moment to receive global media coverage, [...] http://cafod.wordpress.com/?p=486 http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2008/07/21/wyd-acceptance-friendship-and-love/ The hospitality and good-natured tolerance we experienced was not just from volunteers or families - office workers in central Sydney were also swept up into the atmosphere of the event. Many seemed not too put out by the fact that thousands of chanting and cheering people were processing past their offices, or that they couldn’t get [...] http://cafod.wordpress.com/?p=455 http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2008/07/21/wydthe-kindness-of-strangers/ The lovely lunch volunteers in Bondi One of the elements of this WYD which has really been overwhelming is the hospitality and welcome from everyone we’ve met. When speaking to pilgirms from England and Wales about their experiences, they’ve all, without a doubt said what an amazing time they had in the “Days in the Dioceses”. This key, but [...] http://cafod.wordpress.com/?p=446 http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2008/07/19/wyd-jazz-for-justice/ There aren’t many high-profile members of the Church who can keep a crowd of young adults enthralled while talking for 45 minutes in a language which isn’t his first. And then entertain them by picking up an alto sax and giving a fantastic jazz performance. Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez is certainly unique! Wednesday saw the President of Caritas [...] http://cafod.wordpress.com/?p=432 http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2008/07/17/wyd-the-opening-mass/ Panic over, we did indeed find four people to share our dinner with, but more about them later… The opening Mass at Barangaroo, an old dock area which has been rejevenated for WYD, was quite a special experience. For all those WYD first-timers, it gave a taste of what was to come when 150,000 young people descended [...] http://cafod.wordpress.com/?p=425 http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2008/07/15/wyd-and-we-have-lift-off/ Caritas Australia officially opened their WYD programme last night with an exuberant display of cultural dancing and music from around the Oceanic region. It kicked off with music from a group of Torres Strait Islanders, one of the indigenous groups from Australia. Two women, two girls and one man captivated the gathered crowds who were sitting on [...] http://cafod.wordpress.com/?p=412 http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2008/07/15/wyd-calm-before-the-storm/ Sydney has an air of expectancy about it. Walking around Darling Harbour we had to dodge power cables being put in place to bring power to the huge outdoor screen being installed almost in the middle of the quay, ready to show live images during the week. Suddenly we heard the opening bars of “Receive the Power”, [...] http://cafod.wordpress.com/?p=410 http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2008/07/11/wyd-from-green-park-to-green-square-2/ Onward to Sydney and we arrived just before 6am, having left England two days previously. We managed to find our hotel but couldn’t check in for a few hours so left our baggage and went for a stroll. We got to the end of our road and lo and behold! There was the Sydney harbour bridge and [...] http://cafod.wordpress.com/?p=402