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To mark 3 years since going to WYD 2023 Lisbon, I’ll be posting some previously unseen photographs from each day of the pilgrimage. It won’t be anything extensive, but I hope you’ll still join me for the journey. ■ Day 21 Last sight of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Fátima, standing out against the early-morning mist / cloud / meteorological phenomenon (I'm not an expert, folks). (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) Due to COVID-induced travel requirements, the whole of the diocesan pilgrimage was split over three separate departure routes from of Europe: Lisbon, Paris, and Madrid. Myself and the pilgrim small group I was in would soon be on our allotted coach to Madrid. The last ones to leave Fátima, if memory serves—we were definitely the last ones to land back in Sydney at the end of everything.  A very brief refuelling stop for both coach and pilgrims at the CESPA (now Moeve, S.A.) Border Portugal service station on the Spanish-side of the Portugal/Spain border. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  Along the highway we passed the walled city of Ávila, home of St Teresa of Ávila, on our way to Madrid. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  View from the truly airport-adjacent hotel of the just visible lights of Madrid-Barajas International Airport. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023) ■ Day 22 This mural by the Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guayasamín titled "Hispanoamérica", is opposite the platform screen doors in Terminal T4 for the Madrid-Barajas Airport People Mover, which our group took to reach to Terminal T4S (satellite terminal) where our flight was scheduled to depart from that day. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)  Finally arriving, our flight to take us from Madrid to Doha, Qatar, for our connection home to Australia. (Vincent Cavanagh © 2023)
■ Day 23 Hardly warm, but familiar and comforting, and appreciated, refreshment in the car after getting through the International Arrivals gauntlet (as a first-timer) at Sydney Airport in the late evening. Vincent Cavanagh © 2023 Post scriptum Thank you to those who joined me on this—rather foolish—endeavour of marking and reliving three years on the pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2023 Lisbon. I think it safe (if not more so for my own sanity) to say that this is where I leave buried the memory of WYD Lisbon and let the grass of time take over the disturbed soil beneath. I leave the future memory-making to the younger ones in the Body of Christ. Pax, Vincent Cavanagh 10 August 2026 *ALL COMMENTS CLOSED DUE TO SPAM*
 Luggage Check-In, Madrid-Barajas International Airport ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 Just before 7am Madrid time, we were checking our luggage in at Madrid-Barajas Airport. Qatar Airways was taking us on both the Madrid to Doha, and the Doha to Sydney flights. For our Madrid to Doha flight, we were in a Boeing 777.  And the Boxing Kangaroo pillow belongs to … ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 You might remember that when we landed in Milan for the beginning of our pilgrimage, a flight attendant gave this neck pillow into my keeping since it obviously belonged to an Australian pilgrim. Despite sending up flares on social media, and making other enquiries, its ownership was still unknown. I had hoped that someone would have claimed it at the Australian gathering in Lisbon, but no. Yet waiting in the lounge at Madrid airport the connection was made. This pilgrim was a helper with the White bus; and had elected to do his European sight-seeing before meeting up with the White bus pilgrims in Lisbon. Since he had already ordered an exact replacement of his missing neck pillow, he graciously bestowed it on me. You can’t make these things up!  The Orchard, Doha-Hamad International Airport ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 Going through the indoor tropical garden at Doha airport to find food. I ended up choosing sweet and sour fish with rice. Despite longingly looking up at the elevated driver-less people-mover monorail both times we were at Doha airport, my fellow pilgrims elected to do the 15-minute walk between where we landed and where the second flight was departing from.  Ground-level Sydney ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 Yay! Thanks be to God. Just before 5pm on 12 Aug we were back home on ‘terra firma’, at Sydney International Airport, Mascot. We landed 10 minutes after the pilgrim flights from Paris. The pilgrims who flew home from Lisbon arrived in Sydney on 11 Aug. From a straw poll of pilgrims, the average length of sleep that first night home was 14 hours. All of us are slowly recovering from jetlag and exhaustion. We’ve been told to expect it to take two weeks to get back into normal sleep rhythms again. Please pray that all the seeds of grace placed by God in pilgrim hearts over these three-and-a-bit weeks will, in His timing, yield an abundant harvest. Amen. Vincent Cavanagh #bbwyd #wydlisbon #wyd2023 #lisboa2023 15 Aug 2023, 9.32pm Sydney After travelling all day from Fatima to a hotel close to Madrid airport we thought that Mass was out of the question. But God had a surprise for us. Our most resourceful seminarian just happened to know the dean of Madrid cathedral: and learned that in the months of July and August there is an 8pm Mass on weekdays. So off we went.  Side entrance to Almundena Cathedral, Madrid, Spain ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 We approached the Cathedral by this side entrance, which is quite small compared with the rest of the Cathedral. While the need for this Cathedral in Madrid was known for centuries it has only comparatively recently been built. Taking 110 years to build, it was consecrated on 15 Jun 1993 by Pope St John Paul II.  Preparing for Mass at Almundena Cathedral ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 The cathedral has one main nave, with two side naves; and three transepts off the main nave to give it the form of a Latin Cross. Our Mass was in the right-hand side nave dedicated to Our Lady of Almundena, or as we would call it, Our Lady of the Citadel. Under this title Mary, Mother of Jesus, is best known and loved by the Spanish people because the original statue has stories of miracles attached to it. The Christians of 8th century Madrid had deep devotion to Mary, Mother of God, and when the area was invaded by the moors, this statue was hidden to prevent its destruction. It lay hidden for some 300 years before a Christian king came along and demanded it be found. Although the secret location had been passed down from family to family, by the time this Christian king came on the scene the holder of the secret had just died without telling her young daughter where it was. After much prayer a miracle happened, part of the castle wall crumbled to reveal the statue.  Roof of the Lady Chapel, Almundena Cathedral, Madrid, Spain ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 The patterns in this roof are very colourful and look a lot like palm fronds to me.  St Isidro's ark (funeral chest), located behind the main altar of Almundena Cathedral ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 Behind the priest with the white shirt is a reliquary box encased in glass. Inside the reliquary box are the remains of St Isidore the Farmer, patron of Madrid, who died on 15 May 1130. Although sometimes he is called St Isidore the Labourer. He and his wife St Maria belong to that rare breed of married Saints. They had a son who died in his youth. Not that holiness is limited to consecrated life, nor to martyrs; and not that holiness in married life is uncommon; but it is a lot easier for religious orders to keep a cause for canonization going through several lifetimes of postulators. What makes St Isidore the farmer so special? He put God and prayer first. He would go to Mass each morning before work. At least once when his fellow workers complained that he wasn’t working, they found him deep in prayer, and an angel ploughing the fields in his stead. St Isidore is also known for his kindness towards animals, and for the hospitality of his home. Frequently St Isidore would bring hungry people home, and his holy wife always had a pot of stew on the fire waiting for them, and once when St Isidore brought home far more hungry people than usual God multiplied the food for them. On the far left-hand side is the statue of St Isidore the Farmer, and on the far right-hand side is the statue of his wife St Maria.  Looking up from behind the main altar ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023  That same ceiling in more detail ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 The painted panel on the left-hand side is an icon of Pentecost. The painted panel on the right-hand side is an icon of the Baptism of Jesus.  Reredos with statue of Our Lady of Almundena ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 The golden statue underneath the carved crucifixion scene is the 16th century copy of the original statue. From the book of Revelation are the details taken; a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon at her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars, whose son was to rule all the nations. In the other painted panels around the Virgin of Almundena are scenes from the life of Jesus and the life of Mary.  Tomb behind the side altar ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 This tomb belongs to Queen Maria of Spain, a.k.a. Mercedes of Orleans, 1860-1878. In her brief 6 months as Queen before her death she became a co-initiator of the building of this cathedral. Because the cathedral is a short distance away from the royal palace, the cathedral is the Spanish equivalent of Westminster Abbey for major royal weddings and funerals.  Gelato after an "adventurous" dinner ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023 On pilgrimage the meals we had to locate for ourselves became known as either adventure lunches or adventure dinners because we had no idea where we were going, nor any idea what kind of food we would find. Thankfully it was easier to find gelato. What better way to end the evening than gelato? This time I chose two scoops of gelato, one Coconut and the other Bailey’s Coffee Flavour. Since we had to be ready for breakfast at 5.30am the next morning, and a 6am departure for the airport, after the gelato we made our way back to the hotel. Vincent Cavanagh #bbwyd #wydlisbon #wyd2023 #lisboa2023 11 Aug 2023, 12.30am Spain | 11 Aug 2023, 8.30am Sydney |
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