More than 800 young Irish people will be making the trip to Sydney, Australia
for World Youth Day from 15th - 20th July. This year’s World Youth Day event
will also be attended by a number of Irish Bishops:
Cardinal Seán Brady, Armagh
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Dublin
Bishop Denis Brennan, Ferns
Bishop Jim Moriarty, Kildare and Leighlin
Bishop Michael Smith – Meath
Bishop Donal Murray – Limerick
Bishop Seamus Freeman – Ossory
Bishop Raymond Field – Dublin
Details of Diocesan Representation at the World Youth Day
event:
Archdiocese of Armagh:
There are 66 pilgrims attending from the Armagh Diocesan Youth Council. Other diocesan youth going include three young people going with Youth 2000 and 1 young person from Ardee travelling independently. The Armagh pilgrims left on Sunday 6th July, to spend five days in New Zealand for the Days in the Diocese after which they will fly on to Sydney on Sunday 13th July. Cardinal Brady will travel to Sydney next week.
The five northern dioceses (Armagh, Clogher, Derry, Down & Connor and Dromore) held a joint Mass of Sending recently in Armagh cathedral and Cardinal Brady was the main celebrant. Bishop Hegarty and Bishop McAreavey were present.
The Armagh pilgrimage will have a blog from World Youth Day which will be available through www.catholicireland.net and the Armagh Diocesan Website www.armagharchdiocese.org.
Diocese of Clogher:
57 young people will represent Clogher diocese at World Youth Day. They will participate in the Days in the Diocese in the diocese of Bathurst in Wellington and then travel with them to WYD in Sydney. They have had six preparation meetings and a sending off mass with Bishop Duffy in the Cathedral in Monaghan.
Diocese of Dromore
21 young people from Dromore are going to WYD, along with the Director of Youth Ministry.
Archdiocese of Dublin:
The largest group to attend WYD is from the Dublin Archdiocese under the direction of Catholic Youth Care. 200 young people will participate and have spent a year doing a monthly preparation programme. Over 150 will attend the Days in the Diocese in Melbourne and will then proceed to Sydney for WYD. They will be joined by more young people from Dublin. CYC has had a dedicated website, DVD and department overseeing its work. It will also lead some of the catechesis days at World Youth Day. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin will lead the group and they will be accompanied by auxiliary bishop Raymond Field, Director of CYC – Fr. Jim Caffrey and Gerard Gallagher Head of World Youth Day.
Diocese of Ferns:
On Sunday 6th July, 97 Pilgrims from the Diocese of Ferns left for Australia to celebrate their faith with hundreds of thousands of young Catholics from around the world.
For the first week, they are being hosted in Melbourne by families in the Parish of St. Anthony, Glenhuntly. This part of the Pilgrimage is called "Days in the Diocese" and it is a time for each pilgrim to enjoy the cultural aspects of the Host Country, taking the time to celebrate their faith in a series of events that are designed to prepare them for the Festival of World Youth Day itself.
On 14th July they fly down to Sydney and register for World Youth Day which begins on Tuesday 14th July and finishes on Sunday 20th. The final event of World Youth Day is Mass with Pope Benedict XVI and this is preceded by a night vigil in Randwick racecourse. This night is a night of prayer and song and also a time for people to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. They will be sleeping out under the stars so they are hoping for a nice pleasant night.
The events of World Youth Day include catechesis in the morning followed by Mass. In the afternoons there are plenty of opportunities for people to enjoy music, street theatre, prayer, time alone to reflect and time to meet and enjoy the company of one another.
Bishop Denis Brennan will join with the pilgrims for the World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney.
Dioceses of Killala:
On Saturday 5th July, the diocese of Killala sent 11 young people and two priests to the WYD gathering in Sydney, Australia. Eight of the 22 parishes in the diocese will be represented in Sydney with all but one of the lay pilgrims in their twenties. The Killala group are travelling with a slightly larger group from the Diocese of Ossory, accompanied by Bishop Seamus Freeman.
“Days in the diocese” will be spent in the diocese of Ballarat, close to Melbourne, where pilgrims hope to learn about the church in that part of Australia. They will stay with families during these few days and many parish and diocesan events are arranged which will allow both nationalities to experience something of what ‘church’ means in each place .
The group will spend the final week of the pilgrimage in Sydney where they will take part in the WYD programme which seems to be busy, but will undoubtedly be the highlight of the pilgrimage. The group hopes to meet with Irish people settled in Australia from their respective counties in what is hoped to be a faith filled and fun filled 2 weeks.
The group are excited at both the opportunity to share their faith with peers from all over the world and at what will undoubtedly be an immense strengthening of their own faith during this event. Killala is preparing for their return, no doubt with ideas and enthusiasm beyond ‘what we could ever ask or imagine’ (Eph 3:20).
Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin:
The Kildare and Leighlin diocesan pilgrimage to the World Youth Day event in Sydney, Australia, which numbers 137 pilgrims from 29 parishes, have flown out to Australia in recent days. Bishop Jim Moriarty will leave for World Youth Day later this week.
The World Youth Day pilgrims were commissioned by Bishop Jim Moriarty at a special Mass in Carlow Cathedral on Saturday 28th June.
The age of the Kildare and Leighlin pilgrims ranges from 16 upwards with the majority being in their late teens and early twenties. Within the pilgrimage there are a number of family groups including four siblings from the same family. The whole group have undertaken spiritual and practical preparation over the past year, coming together a number of times to get to know each other, to discuss their faith and to reflect on the theme of World Youth Day 2008 which is: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:8)
On arrival in Australia, the Kildare and Leighlin pilgrims will continue to St Patrick’s Parish in Boorowa in the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn where they will stay with host families and participate in the Days in the Diocese programme. A range of social, cultural and faith activities have been organised by the local parishioners. On Saturday 12th July, the group will join 10,000 other pilgrims from the Canberra region for a weekend youth festival and commissioning ceremony in Canberra City.
On Sunday 13th July the Kildare and Leighlin pilgrims will continue their journey to Sydney, where they will join the community in the parish of St Charles Borromeo in Ryde. Once again local families will open their homes to the pilgrims. The World Youth Day festivities will begin formally on Monday 14th July with registration followed by the opening Mass on Tuesday 15th July. Each morning there will be a catechesis with a bishop from the worldwide Church. Pope Benedict XVI will arrive in Sydney Harbour by boat on Thursday 17th July where pilgrims will welcome him at the waterfront. On Friday 18th July, Sydney will come to a halt for a re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross. On Saturday 19th July the Kildare and Leighlin pilgrims will join more than half a million people to make the pilgrim walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Randwick Racecourse for night prayer with Pope Benedict XVI and a night vigil. On Sunday 20th July Pope Benedict XVI will preside at the closing Mass where the venue for the next World Youth Day will be announced.
Update:
Unfortunately the Kildare amd Leighlin pilgrimage to World Youth Day suffered a set back and the last group of 36 pilgrims have been unable to make the journey to Australia for the World Youth Day events. The group missed their flight from London due to bad weather and were unable to secure alternative travel arrangements.
Dioceses of Limerick and Killaloe:
There are 25 pilgrims from Limerick and 20 pilgrims from Killaloe travelling together for World Youth Day. Bishop Donal Murray, Bishop of Limerick is travelling with the group to Sydney. The group will depart on Friday 11th July.
Diocese of Meath:
Bishop Michael Smith is leading a delegation of 48 people from the Diocese of Meath to the World Youth Gathering in Sydney, Australia. After a short visit to the Columban Fathers mission in Hong Kong, the group will be hosted by the Diocese of Bathurst, Australia during which time they will participate in a number of parish activities. On 14 July, the group will arrive in Sydney and join other international pilgrims at various events. Pope Benedict XVI will preside at gatherings from 17 July until the Final Mass on Sunday 20 July.
Fr Mark English, Diocesan Youth Director, explains that the world youth gathering helps young people to share their faith and to learn from the experience of other people from different backgrounds. “The youth group from Meath Diocese” Fr English says “will benefit from this opportunity so that, in the future, they may play a more active part in the life of the church at home. I hope that they will be inspired by the example of other young people from different parts of the world. I also expect that the Meath diocesan group will make their own particular contribution to the event, sharing their unique Irish experience and their hopes for the future.”
The young volunteers are looking forward to the event. Niamh Gavin, a student pharmacist from Navan, though daunted by the long plane flights to Sydney, is very excited about taking part. “I heard young people speak at Mass after the previous world youth gathering. They made it sound like a really worthwhile experience and I am delighted to be heading off.”
Helen Summerville, from Tullamore, helped out last year in the Meath diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes. She was encouraged by her friends to join the youth group in Sydney. “This is a trip of a lifetime for me, a chance to travel with a really good bunch of people. I’m looking forward to seeing Pope Benedict and to hearing what he’s got to say to me and to the young people from all over the world”.
Diocese of Ossory:
Most Rev. Séamus Freeman, Bishop of Ossory, is travelling with the Ossory group. Bishop Freeman will be involved in the Days in the Diocese programme in Ballarat Diocese. With Most Rev. Denis Harte, Archbishop of Melbourne, Bishop Séamus will concelebrate Mass for all pilgrims at Telstra Stadium on Friday, 11th July.
Twenty-six pilgrims including Bishop Séamus will travel from the Diocese of Ossory: one bishop, one director, four leaders, fifteen female and five male pilgrims. The Director and one leader are priests.
The majority of pilgrims left Ossory on Saturday, 5th July, Bishop Freeman and Fr. Richard followed on Sunday, 6th July. The Ossory group will remain in Ballarat Diocese until 14th July when they will move to Sydney for the remainder of the events.
There was a “sending out” ceremony at Peace in Christ Retreat House, Sion Road, Kilkenny at 2.00 p.m. on Saturday, 5th July.
Diocese of Raphoe:
There are nine pilgrims going (including 2 priests) They are being hosted for the Days in the Diocese by Bathurst. They depart Dublin on July 8th and return on July 24th.
Archdiocese of Tuam:
A group of 36 aged between 18 and 35 will travel from the Arcdiocese of Tuam. This group includes representatives from 17 parishes and five priest leaders.
Coming from 17 parishes, including Westport, Castlebar, Claremorris, and Knock the group has been preparing for this once in a life time opportunity for over a year. While the destination is important it is the significance which the pilgrim places on the journey which distinguishes the pilgrim from the tourist.
Over the past year this group of young people has met regularly and their meetings usually take a familiar format; activity, prayer and food. Besides the usual information type meetings they have experienced the major pilgrimage sites of the diocese. They have climbed Croagh Patrick and Máimean, they have visited Ballintubber, and they have done the Tochair Pádraig. They had an afternoon of prayer and reflection on Church Island in Ballintubber and aware of the carbon footprint our journey to the other side of the earth will leave invited Fr. Seán Mc Donagh, perhaps the church’s leading expert on climate change to come and talk with them. More recently the group walked the Killary walk in Leenane and celebrated Mass at the head of the Killary, a most spectacular setting! Preparation concluded with a final meeting at the pilgrimage centre of the diocese, Knock Shrine. At Knock the group were presented with a set of warm jackets (its winter in Sydney) by Mons Joe Quinn who reminded them of the invitation to journey inward as part of the idea of pilgrimage.
Archbishop Michael Neary celebrated a special Mass for the group in Tuam Cathedral after which the group departed by bus for Dublin Airport. They flew to Brisbane where they will spend the initial two days acclimatising. From Thursday July 10th to Sunday 13th they will be the guests of the Catholic parish of Southport just south of Brisbane. Hosted by local families their time there will be spent experiencing church life in a different culture. A festival called the Hearth of the City will be held on the Saturday when over 6000 pilgrims from around the world will gather for Mass in the city centre.
The Tuam group travels down to Sydney on Sunday 13th July to join over ½ million other young pilgrims. They expect to be hosted by the parish of St Patrick in Bondi where Fr. Tod Nolan, the group organiser, visited last summer in preparation for the WYD pilgrimage. For the week the city of Sydney will be literally taken over by the catholic youth of the world. Events are organised everyday but the highlights will be Pope Benedict’s arrival by boat into Sydney harbour on the Thursday, the enactment of the Stations of the Cross on the Friday, joining 500000 others as they walk across Sydney harbour Bridge to the site of the Papal Mass an the Saturday and the all night vigil under the stars in preparation for the closing Mass.
Ends
This page will be updated as additional information becomes available.