Pilgrims from Diocese Get In Touch With Their Faith During Catechesis During World Youth Day

They call them “Rise Up” sessions — catechism designed to remind pilgrims why they’re at World Youth Day.

Travelers from the Diocese of Brooklyn got a chance to go to confession, during their last Rise Up session of the week on Friday, August 4.

Romeo Petric, a chaperone from St. Patrick’s Church, said the sacrament has been the highlight for him during his past six World youth Days.

“When I’ve gone to confession I have tears rolling down my eyes and it’s a kind of moment and it’s you speaking to God through a priest and you just get to let everything go,” Petric said.

But even more rewarding than confessing his sin, is seeing young people confess theirs.

“They all came out,” Petric said. “They went right back to their spots, and you could see not a smile on their face but a cloud being lifted away from them. They perked up a bit.”

Teens like Shannon Keenan took advantage of the opportunity.

“I feel like confessing your sins to someone can make you a little nervous,” Keenan said. “But afterwards I definitely felt lighter and that I can continue this pilgrimage with a clear head and more focus.”

Keenan said her World Youth Day experience has put her in touch with the faith she holds in her heart as well as the one she gets to express on the outside.

“I got to hear so many speakers talking about ecology and its effect on religion and today we talked about social media and friendship and I just didn’t expect it to be so educational,” she said.

Pilgrims on Friday were still coming off of Thursday’s “Welcoming Ceremony,” where pope francis delivered a speech.

“The excitement started to build and once he entered the park the place was just explosive.”

Brooklyn’s Bishop Robert Brennan was in the crowd watching pilgrims react to what he said was a powerful message.

“He got right to the heart of the matter and spoke very plainly,” Bishop Brennan said. “Using language like God loves you as you are. The experience of World Youth Day helps people to see, wow we’re not the only ones who believe this and who believe it with the same energy.”

Catholic News Headlines for Friday 08/04/2023

Pope Francis has been keeping busy in Portugal on his third day at World Youth Day Lisbon.

The Pope celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation with three pilgrims at a public garden in Lisbon.

World Youth Day events continue through the weekend.

World Youth Day Pilgrims Make Pope Francis Feel Younger

Pope Francis finally met with pilgrims from around the world for World Youth Day on Thursday Aug 3.

His his energy seems to have only gotten better once arriving to the event.

He’s also met with Portuguese sex abuse survivors in a private meeting during the day.

Currents News’ Christine Persichette spoke with Elise Allen, the senior correspondent for Crux, to discuss Pope Francis’ second day of his trip to Portugal for World Youth Day.

Pilgrims Welcome Pope Francis in Lisbon

Grace Lugo and Stefanie Scotto, pilgrims from Our Lady Of Sorrows in Corona, Queens, were moved to tears still in disbelief.

They were among the crowd of pilgrims from the Diocese of Brooklyn who welcomed Pope Francis to Edward the 7th Park, along with hundreds of thousands of their peers.

For Julia Galante a pilgrim from St Patrick’s Church, listening to Pope Francis’ message was surreal.

“I got the chills, it’s something you would never expect to see in your lifetime,”Galante said. “I’ve heard so many people say you feel a presence of God when you see the pope but it actually was crazy.”

Through a translator, he began his address by telling the young pilgrims they were all called to World Youth Day by Jesus Christ.

It was a message in particular that Galante felt was being delivered to her personally.

“That was really heartfelt for me because only a few months ago I didn’t even know I was going on this trip,”Galante said. “And I wanted to go on this trip to feel closer to God so that’s crazy for the Pope to say. I don’t think I’ve gone to Mass this much in my life, so it’s really made an impact.”

For other pilgrims like Luka Puglisi, Pope Francis’ presence shifted the environment of the crowd at World Youth Day.

“Even though he was far away and I couldn’t see him you felt this aura in the vicinity,” Puglisi said. “People were yelling their heads off. It was a really cool thing to see.”

Catholic News Headlines for Thursday 08/03/2023

On his second day in Lisbon for World Youth Day, Pope Francis met with Catholic University students.

One young Catholic from the Diocese of Brooklyn is in Portugal connecting with her peers from other countries through friendship bracelets.

Pope Francis joined some of the young people in Lisbon to put the finishing touches on a painting they’ve been working on.

A Mass was held at the Church of St. Brendan In Brooklyn to remember six fallen heroes from the FDNY.

Pope Handles First Day in Lisbon ‘Like a Champ’

After arriving in Lisbon for World Youth Day, Pope Francis was very busy on the first day of his trip.

The pope spent his time in the city waving at the youth as he traversed the streets, meeting with Portugal’s political leaders, and celebrating vespers with bishops, priests, and deacons.

Currents News’ Christine Persichette spoke with Elise Allen, the senior correspondent for Crux, to discuss Pope Francis’ first day of his trip to Portugal for World Youth Day.

Youth From Diocese of Brooklyn Await Pope’s Message

By Jessica Easthope

As Pope Francis descended from the papal plane on Wednesday, Aug. 2, to start his 42nd apostolic trip, dedicated to World Youth Day in Lisbon, he was heartily greeted by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

During his first day, Pope Francis waved to pilgrims as he traveled the streets enroute to his destination.

However, his itinerary primarily consisted of pivotal meetings with dignitaries. He met with President de Sousa, Prime Minister António Costa, and later, joined bishops, priests, and deacons in a solemn vespers celebration.

Young pilgrims eagerly anticipating a chance to see the pontiff in person could hardly wait.

“He’s actually on our shirt for today, and I’m just so excited when I heard that he arrived a day earlier. It was so cool to know that I’m in the same place as him,” said Bea Bonaventura, a 16-year-old pilgrim from Immaculate Conception Church in Astoria. “Not everyone has the privilege to see the pope and especially pray with him. To know that he’s here is definitely a blessing, and with recent health problems, it’s great that he’s here,” she added.

While over 300 young Catholics from Brooklyn and Queens waited to be in Pope Francis’ company, they were led in catechesis by Diocese of Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan.

During catechesis, the pilgrims explored their relationship to Jesus Christ through one another.

“We learn more about God by learning more about each other and learning from each other. It’s that horizontal line that connects us to the vertical line; they intersect, and that’s the cross,” said Patrice Legoute, a seminarian at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie.

For Legoute, his World Youth Day experience reaffirmed his vocation to the priesthood.

“It teaches you and reminds you that the Church is not dead, that Christ is alive, and the Church is alive. It has been such a sincere and genuine affirmation of the priesthood,” he said.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 08/02/2023

Pope Francis landed in Portugal for World Youth Day Lisbon.

During the flight to Portugal, Pope Francis joked with reporters on the papal plane that he hopes to get younger while on this trip.

Hundreds of people from the Diocese Of Brooklyn are on the pilgrimage to Portugal, awaiting Pope Francis’ message.

The week-long event is a chance for the youth from all around the world to meet their peers.

Pope Jokes With Journalists on the Plane to Lisbon: ‘I Will Return Rejuvenated’

Pope Francis landed in Lisbon, Portugal, to kick off World Youth Day. It’s his first trip since the abdominal hernia operation he had in June.

At the foot of the stairs of the pope’s airplane, the Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, was waiting for him. But he waited in vain because the pope did not use the stairs, as he usually does since he has knee problems.

He used the freight elevator on the other side of the plane.

Then the pontiff and the president greeted each other with great affection. Pope Francis used the wheelchair at all times.

During the flight he joked with the press, saying that he hopes to get younger with this trip.

Some journalists presented him with gifts.

Eva Fernandez, from COPE, gave him a very special one: the letter from Pablo de la Cruz, the young man with Ewing’s sarcoma who took his vows as a barefoot Carmelite shortly before his death on July 15.

A Glance Through the History of World Youth Day From Pope John Paul II to Pope Francis

This year marks the 39th anniversary of the Palm Sunday that Pope John Paul II spent in St. Peter’s Square with 250,000 young people.

There, he gave them a cross, which would later become one of the symbols of World Youth Day.

“Carry it through the world as a symbol of Christ’s love for humanity,” Pope John Paul II told the crowd of youth then.

The institution of World Youth Day was officially announced in 1985.

In 1987, the first international meeting took place. The city chosen was Buenos Aires.

The eight World Youth Days of Pope John Paul II were widely attended and the momentum continued with Pope Benedict XVI.

Pope Benedict’s last World Youth Day as pope took place in Madrid in 2011. One of the most exciting moments was the vigil with the youth, even despite the rain.

“Thank you for this joy and endurance,” Pope Benedict XVI said. “Your strength is stronger than the rain. Thank you. The Lord sends us his blessings with the rain. With this, you set an example.”

Just a few months after being elected pope, Pope Francis traveled to Rio de Janeiro to preside over World Youth Day. There, one of the most famous phrases of his pontificate was heard for the first time: “Make a mess!”

“I would like to say one thing: what do I expect as a result of Youth Day,” Pope Francis asked the crowd. “I expect trouble. That there will be trouble here. There will be. That there will be trouble here in Rio. But I want trouble in the dioceses; I want it to go beyond.”

In Krakow, in 2016, Pope Francis visited Auschwitz and prayed in silence in the cell where St. Maximilian Kolbe was tortured.

And each day, from a balcony, he gave a good night speech to the youth. In one of them, he remembered a volunteer who died of cancer weeks earlier.

The last World Youth Day that Pope Francis presided over was in Panama in 2019, where he dedicated several messages to the Virgin Mary. In one of them, he defined her as “God’s influencer.”

“Undoubtedly, the young woman from Nazareth did not appear in the “social networks” of the time,” Pope Francis said. “She was not an “influencer,” but without wanting or looking for it, she became the woman who influenced history the most. And we can call her, with the confidence of children, Mary, God’s “influencer.”

This World Youth Day in Lisbon is the fourth presided over by Pope Francis, motivated by the mission of bringing young people closer to their faith.