 Location, Location ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 We’ve pegged out our spot for the Welcoming Ceremony. Walking to our spot for the Welcome  Walking to our position for the Welcome to Pope Francis ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 Look at them go; they’re on a mission from God.  Pope Francis greeting the crowds ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 On his journey around the crowds before reaching the main WYD stage. There was a sense of peace, something like a cloud of peace, around Pope Francis as he was driven around the crowd of pilgrims.  Pope Francis giving his address—on the big screen ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 What we can see on the sightscreen as Pope Francis gives his address to the crowd of pilgrims. Certainly, look out for the transcript of this address, it was very good. Here’s a paragraph from the English translation of his address (1 pm, 4 Aug); only the Spanish translation was available this morning (1 am, 4 Aug). God bless all those working as translators for us. “You are not here by accident. The Lord has called you, not only in these days, but from the very beginning of your days. He called you by name. Let us listen to the Word of God that called us by name. Try to imagine these three words written in large letters. Then consider that they were written within you, on your hearts, as if setting the direction of your lives, the meaning of who you are: you have been called by name. Each of us is called by name. You, you and you, all of us here, myself included: all of us have been called by name. Not impersonally, but by name. Think of this: Jesus called me by name. His words are inscribed in our hearts, and we come to realize that they are written in the hearts of every one of us, as a kind of title that tells people who we are, who you are. You have been called by name. None of us is a Christian by chance; all of us were called by name. At the beginning of the story of our lives, before any talents we may have, before any shadows or wounds we may be carrying in our hearts, we were called. Why? Because we are loved. This is something beautiful. In God’s eyes, we are precious children, and He calls us each day in order to embrace and encourage us, to make of us a unique and original masterpiece. Each of us is an “original”, whose beauty we can only begin to glimpse.”  Everyone listening to Pope Francis ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 Everyone sitting down and actually listening. His address definitely touched hearts. What I remember most is: ‘God loves you as you are, not as you think you should be (in order to be loved/loveable)’  All flags waving as Pope Francis leaves ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 We won’t see him again until the Stations of the Cross, tomorrow night, and at the Saturday night vigil, and at the Closing Mass on Sunday. On Saturday morning, Pope Francis is visiting Fátima and spending time with young people who live with illness. Vincent Cavanagh #bbwyd #wydlisbon #wyd2023 #lisboa2023 3 Aug 2023, 8.10pm Portugal | 4 Aug 2023, 5.10am Sydney We caught the Metro to a different station, but we ended up in the same park as yesterday for the second session of Catechesis. To be honest, my heart dropped a bit when I saw we were back in the same field again. The topic for today is Social Friendships. All the catechesis locations are covering the same topic. Some clergy have been feeling ill with flu symptoms, including Fr Sam and Bishop Umbers. So there’s been some scrambling to fill the catechesis speaking slots. Run Order for Rise-Up session 2:  Screenshot by Vincent Cavanagh, 2023 These run orders have helped us know what to expect. I should have uploaded yesterday’s run order, but it’s too late now. Because this WYD has tried to be as paperless as possible, most information comes to us from the official app. But I would have preferred a souvenir booklet with maps and schedules in it.  Archbishop Fisher (OP) giving the second Catechesis ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 Archbishop Anthony Fisher is the Archbishop of Sydney. As an auxiliary bishop of Sydney for WYD 2008, he together with Cardinal George Pell and the then auxiliary bishop Julian Porteous, were the episcopal team that made WYD Sydney happen. He was talking too fast for me to jot down notes easily, but this is what I jotted: ‘Whatever your position is, someone is looking for an ecclesial brawl with you, and maybe with you as well – and you with them.’ ‘Hell is both the failure to love (Dostoevsky – 19th century Russian writer) and to be loved (Charles M Schultz – Charlie Brown Comics)’ – only a summary. ‘Now may this WYD make you all great and Godly lovers, every one of you’. Mass was held in the same location as the Catechesis. The Archbishop Fisher presided.  Archbishop Fisher (OP) giving the homily ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 From the Archbishop’s homily: ‘Our God is no God of Separation: He is a God of Closeness.’ Other Information We’ve been told to expect a 4 hour walk to the Vigil Site on Saturday, including rest stops. It’s also been recommended that we go shopping for snacks, and especially Hydralyte tablets. These tablets are supposed to ease dehydration symptoms. Apart from the short time between the Australian Gathering and the Welcome Mass on Tuesday 1 Aug 2023 – when we visited two nearby churches - we haven’t had time to do any sight-seeing, visit the ‘City of Joy’ park, or anything in the city proper. The City of Joy is where the Vocation Fair, a Chapel, and the Reconciliation Park are. In the city proper are movies, art galleries, talks, museums, relics, the cathedral where St Anthony of Padua was baptised and where relics of St Vincent of Saragossa – deacon and martyr – reside. Our catechesis locations have been away from the Lisbon CBD, and by the time we get back, we hunt for lunch, have a brief rest, and then stake out positions for the next visual of Pope Francis or next major event. Vincent Cavanagh #bbwyd #wydlisbon #wyd2023 #lisboa2023 3 Aug 2023, 2.17pm Portugal | 3 Aug 2023, 11.17pm Sydney  White Bus reunion ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 Fr Aldrin, chaplain of the white bus, with our direct-to-Portugal pilgrims, joined our location for the Welcome Mass. We had a reasonably good position because an advance team had gone ahead and picked out a location for the Broken Bay pilgrims to occupy.  Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, Archbishop Manuel Clemente officiating the Welcome Mass ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 Sydney’s Catholic Weekly published a column by Monica Doumit on 3 Aug 2023, with her reflections on the long-term fruit of her own World Youth Day experiences. In it she writes “I am suffering from some serious fear-of-missing-out right now….but I really don’t really want to be dragging my luggage in high summer heat, and that Masses with a congregation of millions of young people present are not the most conducive to my prayer life, but there is just something so wonderful about WYD that makes me want to be part of it.” I do agree with Monica Doumit’s experience of most, if not all, WYD liturgies not being places for deep prayer. The audio where we were for this Mass wasn’t wonderful, and thankfully it was improved just as the Mass began. Sadly all I got were small moments of participation at the Welcome Mass. Everything else is the crush of people, the heat, noise of music, and trying not to lose the group when walking to Holy Communion. What I remember most is the Gloria being sung very well. The archbishop of the WYD location always presides at the Welcome Mass. On screen here is the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, Archbishop Manuel Clemente, also known as Manuel III because he’s the third Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon with that name. Since he turned age 75 about a fortnight before WYD began, in some ways this is the big finale to his active priesthood.  Catching up with fellow Aussie pilgrims while waiting for the first Catechesis session to start ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 WYD Catechesis – Rise Up #1: 'Integral Ecology'. The open-air location is Parque Urbano da Quinta da Granja. It is a pleasant enough place, and one of the biggest places for English Language catechesis, hosting some 10k pilgrims. The catechesis sessions are known at this WYD as ‘Rise-Up’. That’s a play of words on the theme for this WYD based on Luke 1:39 ‘Mary rose and went with haste’. However after having had all the events of yesterday under the hot sun, and getting sunburnt arms, an undercover location would have been more welcome.  Cardinal O'Malley o.f.m. talking to the topic of "Integral Ecology" ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 Cardinal Sean O’Malley o.f.m. from Boston, USA, was our catechist for the morning. Apparently he’s been to something like 11 World Youth Days. Most of the pilgrims here are from the USA, although there are some Italian, Scottish and Mexican flags to be seen. It was rather difficult to keep track of what the Cardinal was saying, so much so, that some pilgrims gave up and quietly said the Rosary instead. Using loudspeakers instead of using a radio broadcast didn’t help. The topic for this morning was 'Ecology'. But I only caught snippets of it. I know that it started with his grandfather buying a large black and white TV, and a TV show called The Millionaire (USA). I wanted to pay attention, but it was a struggle to focus. What I did glean was this: From the end of the Marriage Ceremony in Spanish: ‘I am giving you a companion, not a slave. Love her as Christ loves the Church.’ ‘We become so fascinated by the gift that we forget the giver (God).’ Vincent Cavanagh #bbwyd #wydlisbon #wyd2023 #lisboa2023 3 Aug 2023, 8.21am Portugal | 3 Aug 2023, 5.21pm Sydney This began at 3pm Lisbon time, 1 Aug 2023, at Parque da Quinta das Conchas e dos Lilases. It is the third largest public park in Lisbon, and originally the land belonged to two farms (quintas), one called ‘the Conchas’ and the other called ‘the Lilases’. To get there, we needed to travel by Lisbon Metro. Perhaps the reason this location was chosen, apart from its ability to host over 3000 pilgrims, is the presence of some eucalyptus trees that have been planted there.  On our way to board the Lisbon Metro ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 As you can see, many of our pilgrims have come prepared with Australian flags and anything else uniquely Australian. We thought getting from the hotel to the Metro was going to be a rather simple process, until we came across the vehicle and pedestrian barriers that are part and parcel of crowd control at WYD. Eventually we found a route. At the Metro  On the platform waiting for the next Metro service to arrive ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 Lisbon has several public transport options, metro, train, lift and bus. There are four lifts, with one vertical, and the rest what we would call funicular or cable cars. With the Metro there are four routes, each colour coded red, blue, yellow or green. They might drive on the wrong side of the road, but they drive on the correct side of the rails.  Australian Bishop line-up ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 While we waited for the official parts of the Australian Gathering to begin, lots of catch-ups happened between friends and acquaintances from different dioceses. Apart from a pep talk, that’s what the Australian reunion is all about – reconnecting as an Australian family of believers and reducing any sense of isolation before facing the world. Eventually our bishops found a shady spot from which to view the stage. Maybe you can name the rest, but I can name only: bishop of Broken Bay, Archbishop Sydney, Archbishop Canberra-Goulburn, bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes, Auxiliary bishop of Sydney – Umbers (white baseball cap), Archbishop of Hobart.  Bishop Columba on stage, Lisbon, Portugal ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 It was Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green’s task to give us a homily, on the theme of Jesus saying, ‘Who do you say I am?’. After him, Archbishop Comensoli announced that the next ACYF – Australian Catholic Youth Festival – was to be held in Melbourne in 2025, and further that Pope Francis had agreed to visit it. Vincent Cavanagh #bbwyd #wydlisbon #wyd2023 #lisboa2023 1 Aug 2023, 3.19pm Portugal | 2 Aug 2023, 12.19am Sydney  We've Landed!! ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 This quick group photo was taken on the plane at Lisbon airport, just after the plane had parked. That was a little before 11pm July 31st, 2023.  WYD Lisbon 2023 Pilgrim Pack ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 On arrival at the hotel, we received our World Youth Day pilgrim packs. The only real surprise was the colour of the t-shirt, which could be red or green. Thankfully XL-size seemed to be the t-shirt size most of us late-arrivals received. Part of our pilgrim group arrived on a morning flight. In the pilgrim pack are the backpack – which can be transformed into a carry-bag or handbag shape; t-shirt; lanyard; bucket hat; pilgrim credential; public transport pass; rosary beads; and water bottle.  Testing on the Pilgrim Bucket Hat ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 I tried the bucket hat on that night - and decided that it was far too Gilligan’s Island for me. So I’ll continue with my Cancer Council Men’s Adventure Hat for the rest of the pilgrimage. The brim is better, it’s sturdier, and it has some UPF 50+ protection.  View from the hotel, Lisbon, Portugal ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 I’m several floors up, and sharing the room with Oliver, and this is the view from our Portugal hotel. Can you see the bronze statue of a standing man beside a lion that seems to be floating? It’s actually on a very high plinth between those buildings. That plinth is in the middle of a massive roundabout. While the statue is known as the Marques de Pombal, or Marquis of Pombal Square; it actually refers to Sebastiao Jose de Carvalho e Melo, an 18th century Portuguese statesman and diplomat who led the recovery effort after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Vincent Cavanagh #bbwyd #wydlisbon #wyd2023 #lisboa2023 1 Aug 2023, 8.46pm Portugal | 1 Aug 2023, 5.46pm Sydney |
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