The Pope has said Seoul, South Korea will be the next World Youth Day host city.
Bishop Robert Brennan said he saw the more than 300 pilgrims who traveled from the diocese come alive during their trip and he’s hoping to keep the momentum going.
Our insider at World Youth Day Elise Allen is with us talking all things Pope Francis after her flight back with him on the papal plane.
By Justin McLellan
LISBON, Portugal (CNS) — Young people were going to confession on street corners and park benches throughout Lisbon during World Youth Day, but in the 150 plywood confessionals set up in Vasco da Gama Garden three of them found themselves face to face with Pope Francis.
Donning a purple stole, the pope heard their confessions Aug. 4 in the riverside garden, which has been converted into “Reconciliation Park” and lined with white confessionals built by inmates from three Portuguese prisons.
While a confessional with a white chair bearing the papal insignia and visible to the press had been set up, Pope Francis opted for one of the regular, more private, confessionals instead.
The pope sat across from Francisco, 21, from Spain, followed by Yesvi, 33, from Guatemala and Samuel, 19, from Italy. The three confessions lasted some 10 minutes all together before Pope Francis left the area in a wheelchair and waving to the crowd gathered nearby.
Before going to the garden, Pope Francis met privately at the Vatican nunciature with Maria da Conceição Brito Mendonça, a 106-year-old Portuguese woman, who was born May 13, 1917 — the day of the first Fátima apparition. He also met with Edna Pina Lopes Rodrigues, a young woman with a serious illness; the pope had sent a message “of affection and prayer” to her in June. The pope was scheduled to travel to Fátima and pray with sick young people the following morning.
Priests ministering to pilgrims in “Reconciliation Park” were offering the sacrament of reconciliation in 50 different spoken languages and various sign languages.
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.”
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.