One sports arena; four days; 90,000 hungry souls: this was the irresistible challenge and unprecedented gift offered the Sisters of Life and the Knights of Columbus during World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain.
For over a year the Sisters and the Knights worked to prepare the Love and Life Centre, the largest English speaking venue at World Youth Day. As the months unfolded, cosponsors jumped on board – Holy Cross Family Ministries, Salt and Light television, the Apostleship of Prayer, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), World Youth Alliance, and the JPII Institutes – the making of a potential explosion of the new evangelization was in the works.
August arrived and so did we —- 45 Sisters of Life let loose on the sweltering streets of Madrid, teeming with cheering young pilgrims from every corner of the world. As the opening of the Love and Life Centre approached, Sisters switched gears from their usual work of listening to and supporting women in crisis and took up shop in a large sports arena located in the heart of Madrid, looking strangely comfortable decked out with ear pieces and walkie-talkies, assisting production crews and setting up multimedia exhibits. In the midst of all the practical preparations, the real host of the Centre and of World Youth Day – the Lord– arrived with all that He had planned and prepared, and the Palacio de Deportes was transformed into an enormous tabernacle of grace and truth.
From Tuesday, August 16 through Friday, August 19, the Centre was jam-packed with an estimated 25,000 pilgrims each day, from Africa, Iraq, Ireland, Scottland, England, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Malaysia, and the United States among other countries. What did they find? A phenomenal microcosm of the culture of life, and of the Church: opportunities to connect with people already deeply in love with the Lord and given to Him in every aspect of their lives; amazing talks that lit the soul on fire – including Catechesis from Archbishop Dolan of New York, Cardinal Pell of Sydney, Australia and Archbishop Miller of Vancouver, Canada; panel discussions and breakout sessions on the most compelling questions of our day with some of the clearest voices of our time – Archbishop Chaput, Bishop Lori, Carl Anderson, Curtis Martin, Jason and Chrystalina Evert, Helen Alvare and Vicki Thorn; “You and Me,” a powerful and eye-opening exhibit on the power of one choice to change the world and the fathomless gift of human life and love. Such a comprehensive union of love and truth could lead the pilgrims in only one liberating direction, and it is no surprise that the
two Eucharistic Adoration chapels were filled to capacity throughout the days; that seventy priests at a time consistently heard confessions of thousands of young people; or that the maternal guidance of our Blessed Mother was discovered anew in an area dedicated to learning to pray her rosary more fruitfully.
In this tabernacle of grace, pilgrims were readied for their encounter with Pope Benedict XVI during the main events of World Youth Day. Thousands of young people heard the transforming message of the Gospel of Life, the dignity of the human person and the call of Jesus to bring his Life to a thirsty world. Thousands learned how to pray and experienced the wonder of having their hearts opened in prayer, thousands went home more confident in the truth of the love of God for them, and with hope that they have a mission, a unique and necessary role to play in the upbuilding of the Church and of the culture of life.
One sports arena; four days; 90,000 hungry souls: this was the irresistible challenge and unprecedented gift offered the Sisters of Life during World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain. And, as with every challenge and gift the Lord offers us on this pilgrimage that is life, we were left more amazed at His presence, goodness and beauty than we could have imagined, and humbly grateful that we can count ourselves witnesses once again to the Risen Lord alive among us. Join us in praying for those pilgrims who came to the Centre, and for our cohosts and co-sponsors, that we may all, indeed and forever, be “planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith.” (the theme of World Youth Day 2011).
Originally printed in IMPRINT Magazine Fall 2011.
