WYD Pilgrims return from Madrid
Twenty-six Augustinian young adults from St Clair and North Harbour parishes in Sydney have just completed an amazing adventure to Madrid, Spain where they celebrated World Youth Day (JMJ), 2011. Joining 4000 Aussie pilgrims, over one million young people world wide and the Pope, they celebrated the theme for JMJ, “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith.” Before JMJ week, the group began in Rome, one week later they then made their way to Spain to soak up the atmosphere, and where they visited various Spanish churches and monuments, spent late nights, ate tapas and drank sangria.
For some pilgrims, the trip marked their first time either overseas or in Europe. This included Fr Michael Belonio OSA, resident chaplain for the Augustinian group, for whom this was his first time in Italy and Spain.
Starting on the 29th August 2011, for one week the group made their way from Rome to San Gimignano, Pavia and Milan. After two days touring in Rome visiting the various Basilicas, monuments and stores, the group made their way to San Gimignano where Fr Brian Lowery OSA welcomed us to stay at the San Agostino Monastery. After spending time, relaxing, eating, and making a trip to Florence, the group headed north to Milan via Pavia, where Fr Michael celebrated Mass at San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro, home of St Augustine’s relics. Many were moved by Fr Michael’s homily which tied the theme of the day with the overall theme of JMJ. Later that evening, the group gathered for reflection for the first time to share highlights from their trip and the emotions that ran through them. For some, the first week was an overwhelming experience where they tried to soak in as much as Europe as they can. For others it was also a time of getting to know others in the group in which friendships and bonds were being formed between the two parishes.
The following week began the Spanish tour, where Fr Tony Banks OSA joined the group in Barcelona. Our tour started in Barcelona, then to Santiago de Compostela, Salamanca, Cordoba and Granada which lasted for a week before making their way to Madrid for JMJ celebrations. The experience of Spain can be seen in everyone’s attempt to reset their body clocks to Spanish time which meant, 10 am starts, 2 pm lunch, 3 pm siesta and stay out until 2 am or longer for those who daring. Each city became a unique experience, marked by different monuments such as the La Sagrada Famila and Las Ramblas in Barcelona, St James Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, the Piazza Major and the university in Salamanca, the Mezquita in Cordoba and the Alhambra in Granada. The group gathered in the evening for reflection a second time in one of the parks of Granada. As JMJ was just around the corner, pilgrims shared not only highlights of their trip, but also about each other, their faith and relationship with God. Some shared their perception of faith, others shared how they found God in different aspects of the pilgrimage.
JMJ week made the city of Madrid, as one of our pilgrims would describe it, “a massive music festival”. After the settling into our accommodation at Valdeluz Collegio (an Augustinian school), the group made its way into the centre of the city to gather with the rest of the Australian pilgrims for the official welcoming. Two members of our group Dominic Dimech and Michael Dela Cruz had roles to play during the liturgy. The festivities were met with massive crowds, awesome music, various flags, face paint, various JMJ t-shirts, crucifixes around necks, and chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” and our very own Augustinian chant. This set the tone for the rest week for the group which was matched with the underlying message of finding God in silence. Some group highlights included, the opening mass with dinner straight afterwards, the first day of catechesis given by Auxiliary Bishop Frank from Brooklyn, laying in the park listening to great live bands and performances, free drinks at the Augustinian parish near the park, various chant offs with different groups, Lectio Divina, Adoration, meeting Jesse Manibusan on the Friday night, the thank you soccer match coupled with a game of chinese whispers, the storm during Saturday night vigil and losing our voices the next morning.
The day after, fourteen of our group stayed on in Spain to go to El Escorial for the Augustinian Youth Animators Congress. The group stayed in university lodgings at University Maria Christina, in contrast to the shared school classrooms and showers of the college in World Youth Day. This was welcomed by all. The event gathered youth animators from Puerto Rico, UK, USA, Germany, Mexico, Panama, Spain and Italy. The theme for the congress was “For you.. With you” taken from St Augustine, “For you I am a bishop, With you I am a Christian”. The week consisted of talks, workshops, discussions of the various models of youth ministry in our respected communities and a look into the life of Augustine and his spirituality. One pilgrim described it as, “I’ve never heard the word community used so many times before.” Paul Skippen OSA and Ben Marshall gave their own workshop where it was praised for its wonderful engaging presentation.
There were lots of opportunities for socializing and networking in the local town. One night a group of English and Spanish speaking participants were told to be quiet after chanting the Augustinian chant together past 1:00 am in the morning. Amongst the socialising, our pilgrims spent time discussing what is Augustinian Youth Ministry and how are we to implement it when we get back home to our parishes.
Looking back, the trip brought different personalities and communities together to go on a journey of self discovery, community building and a search for God in all aspects of pilgrimage. For some, it was a reawakening of something they’ve been missing and have gone as far as Spain to find it. For others that attended JMJ in 2008 in Sydney, it opened their eyes to the true nature of pilgrimage and how one’s faith and the faith and energy of others brings them closer together and to Christ. This is evident in how well the group bonded so well together, through the chanting, through meals together, by the way we all looked out for each other within the hectic streets of Madrid and through the constant encouragement and leadership that pilgrims showed each other.
It has definitely begun a momentum to send another Australian Augustinian delegation to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to celebrate the next JMJ in 2013. However, the underlying question is, where to from here? It is my hope that each pilgrim takes the spirit, energy and empowerment and share it with their family, friends and community and continue to invite those into a deeper relationship with Christ. I thank all of our pilgrims and for the communities that help support our pilgrims. Your constant support and prayers is what keeps this ministry alive in our world today. To our pilgrims, thank you for an amazing journey! Be planted, be built up in you Jesus Christ, be firm in your faith, be empowered!
