After many pilgrims left, we had the opportunity to view the St. Mary's Cathedral. It was slightly impressive. Ok, it beats our own by far.
Here are Katie, Birthday boy, Nick, Matt and Lauren with Ruth, the best PB&J sandwich maker and snack packer we ever knew, in Hyde park, in front of the the Cathedral. Nick turned 16 today, (apparently years are the same in Celsius as Fahrenheit.)
We had to feed the kangaroos with an ice cream cone. Apparently down under they don't have paper plates. Here is Colleen offering a baby kangaroo named Jimmy K, a treat.
The Blue Mountains…
Likely named because this time of year all of the visitors turn blue when touring. Before our trek, we stopped to pet all of the non-poisonous animals of Australia at Featherdale Wildlife Park. Nobody was injured by the roaming kangaroos or emus, but Debbie accidentally bought a koala bear made from real kangaroo, which when you don’t look at the price tag feels like you were kicked by a kangaroo. “A koala made out of kangaroo, not a kangaroo made out of kangaroo.” Then we took a train to the mountains but it became apparent that this was every pilgrim’s idea for the day after as we saw a sea of WYD backpacks on the train. We were warned that it would be chilly, but that like many things on this journey was an understatement. The pilgrim from Alaska we met was even shivering. The Blue Mountains are probably some of the world’s prettiest. We went down them in a rail car. It is worth it for me to describe this experience. The rail car was slightly more appointed that a mining car. There was a metal fence on the top which protected you from the rare event of falling rock, but 100% of us hit our heads on it when getting to our seat. (We would have been better off with the falling rock odds.) There was no side guard rail on one side. We descended more than 200 meters. At first gradually, and then so steep we fell into the seats of the person in front of us. Again, no safety features. Once at the bottom, or middle there was a walking path with some stunning views. The path lasted all of ten minutes. The wait to return up on a gondola sky-lift was thirty minutes. Once on the crowded lift, the operator took every opportunity to tell the 99% WYD group that not everybody was into what we experienced at Randwick and we need to be considerate of that on the three minute journey he was about to take us on. He had lots of advice for us, none of it was very Christian. We all blessed him on our way out. This ride took us to the souvenir shop which was one of the few heated areas on this trek. We were rushed on the final ride which would take us to our tour bus. By now it was getting dark and the wind was fierce. When we landed at our platform, we learned that we had missed the last bus. Our tour guide put our sick and lame in a cab and was ready to take us for a LONG walk. Our own Mrs. Marzec found us a bus 100 meters away. It was $1.80, but it was warm. We returned with forty five minutes to eat before our train took us back. Another day to test our Spirits, and guess who won?
-Paul
Highlights of Vigil and Mass with the Pope
Well it was a sunny day for a walk, just a little too sunny to carry 30# of our gear for an overnight in the cold. We had less than a square meter each to make our home for the next 24 hours. It was not prime real estate like Thursday. We were a long way from the altar and not even in good view of one of the twelve huge screens. This venue was immense and it was filled with bodies. Lucky for us, it was filled with the Spirit. No matter what inconvenience we throw this group, they accept it with a smile and look for a solution. Imagine a couple hundred thousand points of light all around you. That was what the evening prayer was like as we all held candles and prayed with the Pope. The music at these events is pretty top rate and successful at stirring emotions. When the vigil ended we started laying in our puddles of wax as it got down to the mid forties, (that’s Farenheit for you Americans.) The group next to us had bongo drums and mandolins. We were a little frightened that they would use them all night, but the sounds that arrested our slumber were in the distance. Most of us found some sleep before we woke at 6:30 to a beautiful sunrise in a colorful sky. A morning prayer just as beautiful was sung as we wiped the sleep out of our eyes and got hot chocolate. The Pope soon arrived and we enjoyed Mass. The Pope speaks English with a little accent that makes it difficult to understand unless you are concentrating. Those who don’t understand English can turn a radio to a specific station to hear a translation. Lucky for us, the South Americans next to us put a small radio next to a megaphone to broadcast for anyone within, oh, about a square mile. This other language made concentrating difficult. I assured all of the pilgrims that the Pope’s homily will be on the Vatican website immediately. Of course when it was all said and done, we were filled with the Spirit like never before. Even though we were tired, hungry and in need of a shower, when they corralled us like cattle in the direction away from where the bus was supposed to pick us up, in a crowd so deep that at times we stood still, nobody complained. We exchanged American flag pins (that were no doubt Made In China) with a group from China along our side in this stampede. Again, as luck would have it we had three hours to get to our bus and we were right on time. Once home we were greeted by those who did not remain overnight and exchanged stories. This was literally the first time we had been in our hotel during daylight. When I looked out the window I pointed to the Blue Mountains and said, “what is that?” That is where we are going tomorrow. I will tell you about it then.
Oh, World Youth Day 2011 will be in Madrid and I have a group already to attend with their younger siblings. Keep using your Busch’s and Hiller’s Cards!
-Paul
A good friend and mentor, Cathy Ghrist, invited us to her catechesis site where for a music component they do not practice chanting, but rather contemporary music. Where they do the ordinary form of the Mass instead of a white glove event with the priest’s back to us. A place where an actual dialogue was encouraged; and of course we loved it. The Cardinal who presented was from South Africa, but studied in Ireland and Belgium. He was extremely engaging and one of the pilgrims mentioned, “Wouldn’t it be cool if that guy were to become the next Pope?” We felt at home in this parish that hosted the Catechesis. They prepared lunch for us and topped it off with fresh desserts made by Shelia who went around with her tray offering us individually. A night and day difference from our more conservative assigned site and it was the perfect opportunity to remind our pilgrims that this is the Universal Church. Both Masses were entirely valid.
Later in the day we made our way to our site for viewing the Stations of the Cross. You may have seen the three hour performance. It was inspiring and awesome. Unfortunately, for some reason they routed us out of the site all in the wrong direction of our bus. It caused confusion for many and one of our adults suffered a sprained ankle in the mess. We missed our bus and had a terrible delay, but our pilgrims made good use of the time; whipping out their journals, playing cards, and some of the guys even played imaginary baseball without a bat. Of course they did this in the middle of a high traffic area, no doubt so that the pilgrims passing by would notice them.
We got a great night sleep and will soon depart for the long walk to the Vigil and Mass with the Pope. We are staying in a hotel with about 90 other pilgrims from the States and a decent cold has spread throughout the place. For most, it lasts only a few days, but lingers after with some coughing and really nobody is complaining. A few of the “not well” pilgrims will join us on the walk but per our resident nurses’ instructions depart after the vigil for a warm hotel room, which is understandable considering the near freezing temperatures at night. We are not likely to get any closer to the Pope than we already were, so attending the vigil and watching the morning Mass from a television in the hotel has been encouraged for these pilgrims in the height of the cold. Nobody has become seriously ill in our hotel, only mildly inconvenienced, so please do not be alarmed.
- Paul
The pilgrimage to the site was filled with excitement as we pass people from all over the globe. At this point we are walking underneath the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
A combination of being early and assigned a nice area to view the Pope's arrival got us close to the action. Of course the crowd behind us constantly pressed us into the barricade and made hearing difficult. Mr. Conrad will include pieces of the Pope's homily in our morning prayer.
“Alleluia! Alleluia!
Receive the power of the Holy Spirit!”
Imagine the sound of 300,000 plus people all singing in one voice, combined with the once in a lifetime experience of being inside 10 feet of the Pope, and you have today. I’m sure it will take a day or two for everyone to let the experience sink in.
There will be more blogging about it tomorrow, as everyone is beyond exhausted and went straight to bed.
-Brendan
World Youth Day has been way more fun than I expected! So many people from so many different countries all coming together for this event it’s amazing! We have been interacting with youth from countries all around the world, trading items and taking pictures together. At times countries will do chants or sing songs. It is a very exciting place to be!
Today was also especially exciting because we got to see the pope! He was honestly within 10 feet of us, I never expected we’d be that close! I always imagined it would be like seeing him on TV but not in person. Instead his car actually drove past the area we were seated and he waved at us! We were incredibly lucky, I’ve overheard other tour groups stating that they’ve been to WYD multiple times and never actually physically seen the pope and we saw him on our first day in! What a great opportunity for all of us!
Sending lots of love from Sydney!
-Liz
Today I feel like a proud father who saved for two years to take his 29 children to Disney so that they could have the perfect vacation. We experienced perfection today as His Holiness came directly in front of us and smiled. We had a hard time hearing his message with the people behind us pressing us into the barricade, but that was ok. His presence among us was all it took to bring pure elation to our group. Even I am astonished at the intensity of the emotions we experienced. At face value we came in close proximity of the Pope. What our hearts and minds felt was a tremendous deal more. It was truly profound and none of us will walk away unchanged. Today will be forever remembered as the day we came close to Christ’s Representative on earth.
-Paul
Cruelty to Pilgrims
We got the pilgrims up at 6:30 to get to our Catechesis site. Our bus actually got stuck in a narrow street and we had to walk up one of the steepest hills we have yet to encounter. Even our runners were winded by the top. In the pilgrim handbook the Catechesis component is described as a “dialogue” led by a bishop which concluded with Mass. The church where this was held was barely above freezing. It was so old that there were neither running water or heat in the building. We sat in the uncomfortable pews for a 90 minute lecture which ended with three questions. How is that for dialogue? While the bishop had some interesting thoughts to share, frozen, we were not in the most attentive mood. Mr. Conrad noticed on our break that the Mass we were going to experience was a Tridentine Mass and we worked to prepare the pilgrims for the extended all Latin version. They were great sports and had a ton of questions as we enjoyed lunch in the sun after. Yes it warmed up and the hot sun beat us down while we waited quite a while for the bus. Next we selected three venues to attend that gave us more flavor of the WYD experience. For the first, we expected a play. I could not even begin to describe it, but it was not a play like we would have thought. A few pilgrims took a nap to the video game music. The second was described as an urban dance. In reality it was a group from Panama showing us their traditional dance. It was better than expected and there may be a few pictures appearing as they pulled many of us on the stage. It was now approaching 7:00 and after the dancing we were hungry. There was supposed to be food right outside our venue, but they ran out. They said that we could get food at the Barangaroo site about a 15 minute walk. So the five of us food gatherers departed for what was supposed to be a 30 minute round trip to carry 6 meals and drinks each back. Well the 15 minute walk was closer to 35 minutes each way. We returned after 8:00 with dinner. We keep trying to think we are smarter and planning the best we can, but the best plan is to “expect the unexpected.” And we do. That has been our motto and everyone is in good spirits. Oh, we never made it to our third planned site, but instead enjoyed an outdoor concert. Our theme today in our journal was to be open to God’s call. What was God trying to say today? Tomorrow, the Pope arrives and we are set up for a front row spot, but if God has something else in mind, our pilgrims are up for about anything.
Paul
Here we observe Gerry experiencing the warm South Pacific waves sweeping the Bondi Beach. He is led by his wife Marybeth who describes the beach for Gerry who experiences the world through every sense except sight. You will notice she stands on dry land. 
On this trip we have a few birthdays. The pilgrims went out for a big night to celebrate the semi centennial birthday of Mr. Tim Mann. 
You probably can not even imagine the excitement in the air at this event. The streets are teeming with pilgrims from every population. I wish each of you could experience the pulse of our pilgrims. They are so filled with the spirit that you can feel the reverberations.
Lake Rotorua, the second largest in NZ, I think as seen from a mountain top. We arrived here from a skyline Gondola. The students enjoyed trekking down the mountain on a cart called a Luge. Again, no guard rails. It was nothing like Disney. Don't worry, they had to wear helmets. Our hotel in Rotorua was on this lake right next to the thermal vents which kept the water warm enough to cook a meal, but also had a less desirable effect of a rotten eggs, Sulfuric scent. The Maori had a love story and song about the little island in the center.
Katie wrote down the name of this village. Even though it was a chilly morning this water was bubbling from the heat. We got to experience the water after it went through chambers that brought it to the baths which were still very hot. The ground itself was warm to the touch. The people in the village cook their food in this water and in vents that they capped. 
There are more Sheep than people in this country. Brendan got to feed a little one during a sheep show where we were introduced to all the kinds of sheep in the world. Hey everyone! New Zealand is absolutely beautiful and I love it here! I want to personally thank everyone who supported our fundraising efforts for making this trip a possibility; we couldn’t do it without you! What I have liked most about this trip is meeting people from different countries. On the plane ride in Los Angeles we met some students from Costa Rico who are attending World Youth Day. They were fun dancing and singing songs in the airport. My sister and I also talked to some boys from Ireland yesterday, they were very charming as well! Liz
G’day, mates! It’s Saturday afternoon, and we’ve already had quite a week since leaving Detroit Monday at noon. It took a shade over 24 hours to get from Detroit to Minneapolis to Los Angeles and finally to Auckland. With the time change that left us 16 hours east of where we started out, we found ourselves collecting our luggage around 5:00 in the morning Wednesday.
Still in a jet-lagged stupor we went to see the Waitomo Caves, first walking through the wonderful cave atmosphere and then taking a wooden boat out onto an underground lake where the glowworms glittered and all that could be heard was the flowing of water. At lunchtime we took a gondola ride up to the top of a hill where many of our group enjoyed luge rides.
Thursday’s highlight was the visit to the Maori village. Our guide lives in the village, and she made the culture come to life for us. For me, the smell of the food being cooked in an honest-to-goodness mud pool was so good I was ready to invite myself to dinner. The Maori have a love and reverence for the natural wonders that cook their food and nurture their lives that is beautiful to see. They sell a lot of skin care products that incorporate the mineral-rich mud from their pools.
Later Thursday we went to an “adventure park” for a barbecue and to let a number of our people experience a variety of intense rides that they’ll no doubt say more about. We also got to go to a show introducing us to lots of varieties of sheep and the fine art of sheep-shearing. In the evening we enjoyed a delicious Maori dinner and show at our hotel where some of our group got to be a part of the show on stage.
Friday we attended mass in the morning and came back to Auckland. Did some other stuff, too, but you just can’t talk about everything.
Today we went to a little village called Devonport to walk around, climb an extinct volcano, shop, have a nice lunch, and just enjoy some time out in the air with no bus to ride.
Our love and prayers are with everybody back home.
-Jerry
Hello from Auckland!
We’ve had a few days to acclimate to the southern and eastern hemispheres. It is beautiful here. Rotorua was the perfect cure for a very long plane ride followed by a long bus ride. It was rural – with a native Maori culture that prizes the environment and family.
Paul arranged for us pilgrims to attend Mass on Friday morning at a small, local parish. We were 60 Americans and about 20 parishioners, but we were welcomed immediately by the people and by posters about World Youth Day events being celebrated by the youth in the parish. We probably won’t run into those young people, but this event is central to life down here.
On the Qantas airplane, the main story for their travel magazine was World Youth Day, and what the event is bringing to Sydney in terms of construction improvements for the city. This morning, Colleen read an article in the New Zealand Herald Tribune (I think that’s what it was called) talking about the WYD efforts of other pilgrims helping people in Australia with work projects. Maybe our group can think about doing that another year.
I am feeling that we are in the midst of something really immense – a movement that has energy and faith. The young people are amazing. We are proud of all of them. They are experiencing some “extreme” activities, and learning more about the stuff they are made of. As we head out tomorrow morning to Sydney, we’ll be ready to embark on more learning and growing. Thanks for helping us to get here, and know that we keep you in our minds and hearts. We’re silly sometimes, but we keep using the words we’ll use next week as we learn more about God’s immense love for each of us. Words like Spirit, and being ignited, That silliness is just one characteristic of God’s creativity.
Mary Beth
After a long trek from Rotorua we stop at the highest peak of Auckland to look at a fantastic view of the city and an inactive volcano. There was plenty of wind up top, but a shortage of bathrooms cut the stop short. (Friday) 
A view of the volcano behind us. They don't put up guard rails anywhere in this country. One just has to be smart. Our students passed the trial. 
On our day in Auckland, we ferried over to Davenport for a "constitutional" or walk as Jessica would put it. Rainy and 60 degrees today, but we were able to enjoy the quaint town and shop a little. Some members of our group jumped off a bridge today, but don't worry we were able to collect them all. (Saturday)
Here's our group in front of a Maiori village meeting house in Rotorua, NZ. It was at this village where we enjoyed the sight and smells of hot springs and got to see how the Maiori cooked their food using "pressure cookers," that is, enclosed volcanic vents trapping the steam coming up out of the earth.A number of our pilgrims typed out brief messages for you to review and enjoy while we traveled on our bus from Rotorua to Auckland today (Friday the 11th). We're now staying in Auckland, NZ for tonight and tomorrow, after which we head to Sydney, Australia early Sunday morning.
Sincerely,
David
Glad to be here, got to see the glow worms, one of them smiled at me. Lots of stories to tell when we return. Kia Ora!
-Paul.
We are having lot of fun together.
-Colin.
There are so many things to do here. We are all having a great time.
-Jeremy.
We saw lots of glow worms and considering Noah saved only two there sure was a lot of glow worms there. We also met a culture called the Maori and I got to go on stage and stick out my tongue and yell as loud as I could. Kia ora and Simalakoo.
-Nick.
It is wonderful here, enjoying the culture, the adventure, and my travel mates!!! Lots of pics and stories to share. Kisses and hugs to my family xoxo
-Kelly Reed.
Kia ora! I apologize about the scattered updates; we have been having problems with the internet. As I write this we are on the way back to Auckland and we should be able to get better internet there.
Tonight we are all looking forward to some rest in Auckland, and the possibility of going to a rugby match. Many more photos to follow hopefully!
-Brendan.
On Monday, we spent more time in the air than we did on land, and Tuesday technically never really happened; since we went straight to Wednesday morning when we passed the International Date Line. Our first morning here was bizarre—we arrived at the Auckland airport at around four a.m. local time, and we were all exhausted. It was freezing cold out, and I don’t really think that any of us were quite prepared for the weather. After all, for us, July is summer, not winter! But our upbeat tour guides, preservation, determination and prayer helped us all get through the day with a relatively positive attitude. When we got to the hotel in Rotoura, however, we were definitely refreshed to be able to shower and relax. It’s Friday now, and we’re on our way back to Auckland. So far, it’s been a fantastic start to our pilgrimage—New Zealand is absolutely beautiful, and it continues to amaze us how friendly everyone is, here. We visited a local church, this morning, for mass; and it was lovely how absolutely welcome we were. Hope to be updating soon, I’m sure we’ll have more exciting news to come.
-Carli.
God is everywhere, including New Zealand! We know for sure because we arrived safely and to the sight of a New Zealand sunrise over the greenest mountains we’ve ever seen. My favorite stop thus far has been the town of Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahahiao, (google it if you doubt my spelling). Thanks for your support!
-Katie
New Zealand, the home of a trillion and a half sheep, the smell of sulfur, beautiful landscapes, and some of the friendliest people you will ever meet! Wish you were all here to experience it too!
G’Day Mates! How’s it goin’? We are very excited to be on our way to World Youth Day and being in New Zealand just makes us feel that much closer to the generous and outgoing atmosphere that is Sydney, Australia! Thank you for helping us travel on this amazing pilgrimage!
-Paige.
Kio Ora all! Here we are traveling on our bus after attending a beautiful mass at the St. Michael’s Church in Rotrua, New Zealand. This voyage has been a great experience and I wish that you all could be here to experience it with us! So many people from all over are here to take this voyage with us for WYD and it is a wonderful feeling to be joined together for such a great cause! Thanks for making it possible!
-Nikki
Hey everyone! New Zealand is absolutely beautiful and I love it here! I want to personally thank everyone who supported our fundraising efforts for making this trip a possibility; we couldn’t do it without you! What I have liked most about this trip is meeting people from different countries. On the plane ride in Los Angeles we met some students from Costa Rico who are attending World Youth Day. They were fun dancing and singing songs in the airport. My sister and I also talked to some boys from Ireland yesterday, they were very charming as well!
-Liz
Thanks to Brendan for this great picture of the dawn in New Zealand during one of our many excursions after arriving in this country July 9. Tomorrow, that is, July 11, I'll have Brendan post an explanation and along with his own insights into our pilgrimage thus far. We've had some Internet connection difficulties at our current hotel in Rotorua, NZ. I more or less was able to maintain a stable connection for a few minutes after 10 p.m. and wanted to get this stunning pic to you. More tomorrow!We leave as pilgrims, we come back as emissaries. Thirty of us leave our community of St. Aidan Parish on July 7th and journey to Sydney, Australia for World Youth Day 2008, with Pope Benedict XVI. We do this, not as a vacation, but rather something flowing from our Baptismal vocation, of being disciples of Jesus Christ.
Indeed, those who engage in pilgrimage are called to conversion, spiritual growth, and the advance of the Church’s apostolic mission,[1] that is, of spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to all we encounter on our journey. While we have a mission on our pilgrimage, we also have the added challenge of becoming better Christians than we are currently found to be. We need shaping, and God, through Christ, is going to help us in this endeavor through His Vicar, Pope Benedict XVI. Please visit us daily at our pilgrimage blog: http://staidanwyd.blogspot.com where you can track the adventures and conversion that we pray to experience the next several days. Without you, these days would not have been possible and we thank you all for your support of prayer and funds to allow us this intensive conversion experience.
However, this pilgrimage to WYD is not just about us. Yes, we leave as pilgrims, but we come back as emissaries. The conversion we experience, the things we learn, the engagements with fellow Catholics and people of good will from all over the world that we enjoy, are not occasions to be kept to ourselves. We must share the benefits of these occasions with you. Yes, there is the aforementioned blog, but more importantly, we must be “heralds of Christ”[2] in the endeavors of our daily lives, developing just and enriching social systems, and sharing the love of Christ with all.[3] As time goes by, we pray that the blessings of this pilgrimage manifest themselves in our interactions with you, and aid in the goal of bringing all of us closer to Christ, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (cf. John 14:6).
Yours in Christ,
David J. Conrad, Director of Faith Formation
