Pilgrim Blog 22 - The Gathering of Australian Pilgrims

​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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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