On Tuesday 16 August many young people from all over the world gathered for the first time as one big group at the opening Mass in Plaza de la Cibeles and the streets surrounding it. This was a perfect place to celebrate the start of World Youth Day as this is where the founding father of World Youth Day had celebrated Mass there in 1982, 1993 and 2003. People piled onto the streets to participate in the Eucharist and the Gospel with so many other people in the same situation as themselves. The Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela the Archbishop of Madrid. The Cardinal welcomed everyone that was there physically and through other media to Spain a country rich in culture rooted by the Catholic faith. ‘You are the generation of Benedict XVI’ Cardinal Antonio instructed them, explaining that it is different to the generation of John Paul II with the new technology, the economic crisis and other things that make it different being a Catholic today. After Mass people left the streets and returned to their accommodation ready for the week long event with a sense of welcome from the Community of Madrid.
Daniel Young

Our host family were so welcoming and very excited to meet us. There were four of us staying with them, the two girls were staying in the family’s apartment and Drew (my room mate) and I were in the apartment above with their Grandma. I was so pleased that they all, besides Grandma, spoke some English as my Spanish was (and still is) very limited. Morning Prayer the next day was my first experience of a Spanish church and it really was magnificent. Every church we went into seemed to be more extravagant than the last, with such detailed statues and majestic colours everywhere. The Opening Mass in the cathedral was quite overwhelming, so many young people from all around the world had gathered there to celebrate together (though the crowd was minute compared to those in Madrid). The atmosphere in the cathedral was incredible – everyone was buzzing and singing at the top of their voices. We were all sad to see our time in Valladolid come to an end. We finished with a Mass in the beautiful English College Chapel with our Archbishop and host Families. After Mass we exchanged numbers with our family, took photographs, gave them gifts, said ‘Adiós’ to Grandma and set off to greet the Pope in Madrid!
Joe Cummings

Singing praises to the Lord with my brothers and sisters in Christ, filling the streets of Valladollid with the sounds of God’s love is one of my favourite memories.

Sitting in a circle on Spanish soil (well, technically pavement) the sun shining, the water flowing, guitars strumming, people singing; no wonder the locals stopped to listen and even join in. My whole experience of Spain was surreal; priests, nuns, brothers and all other religious just casually strolling around filled me with extreme pride and comfort. If I have ever felt the presence of God it was being in the presence of those devoted to him, religious and lay people alike. The evangelisation in the streets of Valladolid was one particular experience where I felt the true sense of Christian community. Singing praises to the Lord with my brothers and sisters in Christ, filling the streets of Valladollid with the sounds of God’s love is one of my favourite memories. Regardless of the language barrier people could hear and see the joy in us and it was this joy that they could partake in and it was all for one reason, for the praise of our Lord. To share faith in song is the most beautiful form of worship. ‘Great is your love, poured out for all. This is our God’ –Hillsong United.
Nicole Hickox

When I had the opportunity to take a more active role in World Youth Day 2011, my 3rd World Youth Day in all, I jumped at the chance. An invitation had been sent out to all the diocesan groups staying in the Archdiocese of Valladolid to be part of a choir of pilgrims from numerous nations that would join together in song to praise God in preparation for the Welcome Vigil at Valladolid Cathedral, and the Mass there the next day. It was a wonderful opportunity, and one I hoped would be the highlight of my pilgrimage, and it didn’t disappoint. Coming together to pray, practice and enjoy each other’s company was great, and come the days of the Welcome Vigil and the Mass, I was immensely proud of my involvement in the choir, and also the involvement of the friends I’d met in the choir from Tanzania, Canada, Italy and Spain to name just 4 countries. As I left the Cathedral having been part of these wonderful events, I felt more connected than ever with the World Youth Day experience, and more prepared than I had ever been previously for the events that I was about to be part of in Madrid with the Holy Father and over one million other young Catholics. The Holy Father’s message to us all of being ‘Firm in the Faith’ certainly applied to me after my experience in Valladolid Cathedral.
Simon Tibke

World Youth Day, three simple words that unlock a vast range of experiences throughout the Catholic youth of today, be they spiritual, social or cultural. Although the entirety of our pilgrimage to World Youth Day this year will stay with me for my entire life, I have been asked to write about one aspect in particular. No matter what else you associate with Spain, I can all but guarantee bullfighting will be somewhere near the top. Our demonstration of bullfighting turned out to be an interactive session, with us being allowed to jump into the ring if we so wished, to start with, I was hesitant, but after a while, it clicked, this is part of what World Youth Day is about, experiencing different cultures, and taking part, so without further ado, I discarded my bags and jumped in. About a minute later, I was lying on the floor, one leg over a bull, and the other trying to get me up again! A quick prayer and some adrenaline later, I was safe behind a wall, with one of the volunteers checking I was alright, and after a few minutes, I was back again, though not letting it get quite so close! In my opinion however, this experience highlights several aspects of World Youth Day, particularly the cultural and the social aspects. But I suppose the big question is would I do it again? Well, we’ll see what Rio has to offer in 2013!
James Carus

I, along with many others, was filled with the excitement that the Pope was here to be with us and that he might even drive past us! There was a great excitement in the air as, for many young people from other countries; they had never seen the Pope!

As the days went along at World Youth Day, the groups that congregated became larger and larger. On our first full day in Madrid, we joined about 10,000 other english speaking pilgrims to fill a sports arena and unite together in worship, listen to some inspiring and empowering teaching and to celebrate certainly the largest scale indoor Mass I have ever been to. The most inspiring day of catechesis at Palacia de Deportes (which, for the duration of World Youth Day became ‘The Love and Life Centre’) was, for me, the last day. The morning began with worship where the atmosphere was one of immense celebration and overwhelming joy. People danced and praised and sang of all God has done for us and how amazing he really is. After this the clear message came from the archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan; God is amazing, and wonderful, so let’s manifest that in our lives and take his good news to the streets. His inspiring, entertaining and engaging talk on effective evangelism resonated with so many of the young people who filled that sports stadium and he shared with us the best ways to live out our faith in a way so that people will see how amazing this gift is, that we as Christians have. Overall, the catechesis was an empowering and passionate encounter with God that I’m sure will stay with all of us there for the rest of our lives.
Andrew Smith

One of the highlights of the trip for me was when the youth came together to welcome Pope Benedict. I, along with many others, was filled with the excitement that the Pope was here to be with us and that he might even drive past us! There was a great excitement in the air as, for many young people from other countries; they had never seen the Pope! Sadly, nobody knew where the Pope was exactly and the only way we could guess was by how close the security helicopters were! As the helicopters grew closer, the chants from the crowd grew louder. My favorite being ‘Esta es la Juventud El Pappa!’ which roughly translates as ‘We are the youth of the Pope!’ Having the Pope amongst us reminded me of his visit to Cofton Park and the immense sense of pride I had for my faith and support from those within the faith. Pope Benedict addressed the different nations, saying to the English speaking ‘Planted and built up in him, firm in the faith and open to the power of the Spirit, you will find your place in God’s plan’ and right then I knew it was God’s plan for me to be at World Youth Day.
Miriam Gannon

A particular highlight of World Youth Day for myself and fellow seminarians in the BCYS group was the Mass for seminarians which the Holy Father celebrated. Our seminary year began with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the UK and in particular to Oscott college and there could be no better way to end the year than with a Mass for seminarians with the Holy Father. The day started very early and as a number of Madrid’s party goers made their way home from a long night out over four thousand seminarians from around the world made our way to Madrid Cathedral. Seeing so many seminarians gathered together highlighted how our prayers for Priestly vocations continue to bear fruit. As we awaited the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI there was an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation, then, as he arrived the Holy Father was greeted with loud cheering, shouting and applause and it struck me at that moment how privileged we all were to be in the presence of the Successor of Peter who was celebrating the Mass for us. Once the Pope was inside the Cathedral, and Mass approached, silence fell and there was a true sense of prayer. The Mass was a blessed time and the Holy Father’s homily was a true inspiration. It continues to affirm and inspire and as we begin this new academic year I pray that we may all follow the words of the Holy Father; ‘Fix your eyes upon him who through his incarnation is the supreme revelation of God to the world and who through his resurrection faithfully fulfils his promise. Give thanks to him for this sign of favour in which he holds each one of you’.
Chris Yule