The Bishop Writes

(From the Sept. 14, 2000 edition of the Inland Register)

Every two years a world youth day is scheduled for Catholic youth from around the globe. In recent years the event has been scheduled in Denver, Manila, and Paris. In Denver over 200,000 youth attended. In Manila at the final Mass the estimate of the number who attended was about 5 million; in Paris, about 1 million. Appropriately, the youth day for this Jubilee Year took place in Rome, with over 2 million attending the final Mass in a large field just outside the city.

Although the gathering was labeled “World Youth Day,” the event covered several days. This WYD began on Tuesday evening of the Feast of the Assumption, Aug. 15, and concluded on Sunday with the large Mass at a spot called Tor Vergata, about 10 miles from downtown Rome. I arrived on Monday afternoon from Seattle, where I had attended a regional Marriage Encounter convention and celebrated the Sunday liturgy with the participants.

The hospitality in Rome was most gracious. I was met at the airport by members of the San Egidio community (a lay movement). Two were assigned to drive me ultimately to North American College, where I would be staying. The college is quite near the Vatican. My two drivers were from Sicily and I’m afraid they didn’t know the city much better than I did. In Rome, if you don’t know the right streets and turns, you’re in trouble. They apologized profusely, but I enjoyed the ride around some parts of the city I had not seen before.

The opening event was the next evening. The crowd in St. Peter’s Square was tremendous perhaps as many as 300,000. The day was hot; 93 degrees, and very humid. Although the ceremony didn’t begin until about 6:30 p.m., the youth gathered in the square several hours early. Large hoses were used to spray water over the crowd before the sun went down to cool people off.

Earlier in the evening, the Holy Father had stopped for a ceremony at St. John Lateran, the cathedral church for the Archdiocese of Rome. That event was broadcast on the speaker system and the large video screens in St. Peter’s Square so everyone was aware of what was happening a couple of miles away.

When he arrived at St. Peter’s, the pope toured briefly through the crowd in the square before the ceremony began. The Holy Father’s voice was strong. As the evening wore on and it became dark, the backdrop of the front of St. Peter’s Basilica was magnificent. The front has been cleaned and refurbished. A new lighting system has been installed as well. The event ended late, and 300,000 youth do not empty the square immediately. So there was some difficulty in getting everyone back to the places where they were staying, especially when public transportation shut down at midnight.

Incidentally, anyone who had a badge for identification could use public transportation free. It was a marvelous way for everyone to get around.

The next morning I walked over to the Rome offices of the United States’ National Conference of Catholic Bishops, located in Casa Santa Maria, a house for U.S. priests doing graduate studies in Rome. I wanted to say hello to the staff and have a walk through the city.

The city was packed. Up until now I have always been able to brag that I have never fallen victim to Rome’s plentiful pickpockets. Not anymore. I had my passport and money in a pouch around my neck, but as I moved through a very heavy crowd at the Trevi Fountain, someone got the rosary out of my front pocket. I hope he (or she) uses it!

For the next few days, the youth had the opportunity to go through the holy doors at St. Peter’s, attend catechetical sessions followed by Mass, and visit some of the historic sites in the city. With Bishop Thomas Connolly, retired bishop of Baker, Ore., I went over to Circus Maximus to hear confessions for a couple of hours. The crowds were tremendous. On Thursday, finally, I was able to make contact with the 80-some members of our diocesan group attending WYD. We spent some time together on Friday afternoon visiting sites in the central city. We also celebrated Mass together on Saturday morning before they headed out to Tor Vergata for the Mass early Sunday morning, the concluding event.

At the last minute, some 200 Polish youth with their chaperones and four priests joined us for Eucharist so we had a bi-lingual liturgy without either group knowing the other’s language. It’s fascinating to see how Eucharist can pull people together in such circumstances.

The closing Mass with about 2.2 million people was an impressive event. Youth from all over the world were present as the Church celebrated. As the liturgy wore on into late morning, the weather turned hot. Most people had been there more than 24 hours. Yet, there was a sense jubilation and appreciation from the youth. On the way home on the plane I asked some of them if they felt the circumstances were too harsh or difficult. Everyone said it was well worth it.

Clearly the Holy Father has a special relationship with the youth. He energizes them, and they in turn energize him. Such an event reminds us of the gift of our youth, their importance as part of our Church family and the continuing need to support youth ministry. They also teach us that living with hardship in order to find community is a sacrifice well worthwhile. May we all reflect on that significance as we journey in faith.

Blessings and much peace!

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