Free Republic

When the Vatican announced that World Youth Day would be held in Denver in 1993, many news experts predicted that the event would be a failure. The United States, they said, was different than countries like Poland and Argentina, where previous World Youth Days had met great success. The United States, they claimed, lacked an entrenched tradition of Catholic pilgrimage, the traveling distances required to assemble a large gathering from across the country were too large, and most importantly American young people would simply be uninterested in the pope or his message. On August 10, 1993, stunned reporters crumpled their...

Pilgrims fill Madrid's Plaza de Cibeles for the opening Mass of World Youth Day. The Aug. 16 Mass was dedicated to Blessed John Paul II, who hosted the first such international gathering of Catholic youths in Argentina in 1987. (CNS/Paul Haring) By Gretchen R. CroweCatholic News Service MADRID (CNS) -- A cloudless blue sky turned to inky night as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims participated in the opening Mass for World Youth Day, celebrated by Madrid Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela in the Plaza de Cibeles. Protected from the heat by white umbrellas and streams of soft mists, dozens of...

Issues with World Youth Day's official website are due to hacking attempts, the event's press office announced Aug. 19.While Pope Benedict XVI ate lunch with 12 youth from around the world, the press office issued a statement explaining that “out of respect for the millions of people who are following us around the world and the 4,900 accredited communication professionals at WYD, we believe it is necessary to inform the public about this hacking attempt.”The organizers said they regret “any distress caused” and confirmed they are working to resolve the issue.The official site can be viewed at: www.madrid11.com“WYD is also...

I debated about whether to post these photos but I decided to for an important reason: to ask for prayers and to encourage us to support and appreciate the courage of Catholic pilgrims in Madrid who have had to face, at times, vicious anti-Catholic harassment. The photos tell the story (via Reuters FaithWorld):Protestors light the WYD banner on fire directly in front of praying pilgrims Two men shout insults at a pilgrim nun as she walks by them A group of men shout at a nun and young women as they pass I don't even know how to describe this...

Pope Benedict XVI gestures to the crowd as he arrives at Madrid's Cibeles square Thursday Aug. 18, 2011. The Pope arrived Thursday for a four-day visit to celebrate World Youth Day. Madrid, Spain, Aug 18, 2011 / 03:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI told the hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims at World Youth Day in Madrid that they will be happy and at peace if they center their lives on the “solid rock” of Jesus Christ. Build “your lives upon the firm foundation which is Christ,” he urged. “Then you will be blessed and happy and your happiness...

Pope Benedict XVI attends the monastery of El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on the second day of his four-day visit to Spain coinciding with the World Youth Day festivities August 19, 2011. Your Eminence,My Brother Bishops,Dear Augustinian Fathers,Dear Professors,Distinguished Authorities,Dear Friends, I have looked forward to this meeting with you, young professors in the universities of Spain. You provide a splendid service in the spread of truth, in circumstances that are not always easy. I greet you warmly and I thank you for your kind words of welcome and for the music which has marvellously resounded in...

Madrid, Spain, Jul 25, 2011 / 02:01 pm (CNA/Europa Press).- The president of the Bishops’ Conference of Spain, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, said July 22 that Spain and Europe are suffering from “a crisis of young people” because of the country’s low birth rate. The cardinal, who is the Archbishop of Madrid, said the percentage of the population between 0-22 years of age is “low” and is one of the reasons why there are few vocations, not only in the Church “but in many other areas.” Cardinal Rouco spoke during a summer seminar on the impact of World Youth...

Madrid, Spain, Jul 13, 2010 / 03:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pilgrims attending World Youth Day in Madrid next year will see a monstrance from the 15th century that is known as “the finest example of Spanish silverwork of all time.” The Monstrance of Arfe will used during a time of Eucharist adoration led by Pope Benedict XVI at the international youth gathering. According to a press release, the monstrance “is popularly known for being used during the Corpus Christi procession each year in Toledo.  It measures almost 9 feet tall and is made of gold and silver.” Francisco Portela, professor of Art...

Lissette Quezada of St. Peter Chanel Church in Hawaiian Gardens, Calif., and Jeff Mazzone of Baltimore gather with other World Youth Day pilgrims Aug. 12 in Madrid's Plaza del Sol as people began arriving for the Aug. 16-21 event. (CNS/Tom Tracy) By Cindy WoodenCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While the Catholic Church seeks to help earthlings reach their true home in heaven, too often it treats its younger members as if they were from another planet, a top Vatican official said. "Young people can find themselves in a lot of local churches on the margin of things,...

It was the first great ecclesial event of this 26th WYD to take place in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI, and it was the very essence of Spanish devotion. The world had come to Madrid and Madrid brought the Iberian Holy Week and in particular, their Way of the Cross, to the world stage. Fraternities, ancient guilds of artisans, custodians of Stations had carried the precious statues from all four corners of the nation to Madrid’s Cibeles square. The station from Malaga leaving the city boundaries for the first time in its centuries old history.The sun was still high,...

I want to start by sharing a story. Once upon a time, a student at one of the world’s oldest universities took a break from her studies to visit the Catholic chapel on campus. As she sat there in silence—praying for a sick relative or trying to settle her nerves before a test—the chapel suddenly filled with noise. A mob of about seventy fellow students charged in chanting anti-Christian slogans. They shouted obscenities against the Church and insults about the Pope. Two females in the mob climbed on top of the altar. Then, according to the student who was trying...

What a way to end the pilgrimage! This morning, I gathered with a million other young people to celebrate at the Papal Mass, held on the Cuatro Vientos airfield. It is a moment I will not forget. Most pilgrims headed out to the field the night before for Eucharistic Adoration with Pope Benedict XVI and spent the night sleeping out in the field. The field itself was a massive open space, mostly dirt and dust, with no shade from the sun or heat. However, that did not deter any of the pilgrims there, and merely added to the unforgettable experience....

Sonsoles Espinosa, José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero's wife, was the only one out of the Spanist statemen's wives not to meet Benedict XVI at WYD. But the Vatican overlooks it...“Never has a first lady failed to attend the Holy Father’s visit, but Zapatero isn’t one to eat priests for breakfast…” On Sunday morning, the only frowned upon absence in the Pope’s retinue, was that of Sonsoles Espinosa, the Socialist prime minister’s wife, who did not make one appearance throughout the entire 2011 World Youth Day event.  Lady Zapatero was the only one out of all Spanish statesmen’s wives who, unlike Queen...

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput speaks at a WYD catechesis session in Madrid Madrid, Spain, Aug 18, 2011 / 12:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop-designate of Philadelphia Charles J. Chaput told thousands of young people gathered in Madrid for World Youth Day that an authentic relationship with Christ isn't based purely on emotions. “Ultimately, it will not be how you feel that will determine how genuine and profound your encounter with Jesus is,” he told pilgrims. “Instead, it will be determined by how much you are transformed into Him and how much you burn in the desire to bring Him to...

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives at Madrid's Barajas airport from Rome, August 18, 2011. The Pope arrived in Spain's capital for a four-day visit culminating in a mass on Sunday in the Cuatro Vientos aerodrome which over two million people are expected to attend. MADRID - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday denounced the profit-at-all-cost mentality he says is behind Europe's current economic crisis. The pontiff insisted that morals and ethics must play a greater role in formulating economic policy in the future."Man must be at the centre of the economy and the economy must not be measured only...

Archbishop Dolan greets World Youth Day pilgrims from New York in Madrid. (CNS/Paul Haring) By Gretchen R. CroweCatholic News Service MADRID (CNS) -- World Youth Day pilgrims got down to business in Madrid Aug. 17 as the first catechesis classes taught by archbishops and bishops were held in locations throughout the city. Sessions were divided by languages, and pilgrims were encouraged to go to the session closest to their accommodations. At San Ricardo Church, northwest of the city center, cheers and cries of welcome greeted New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan as a group of approximately 350 young people...

Young people carry the World Youth Day cross during the Way of the Cross led by Pope Benedict XVI in Madrid Aug. 19. (CNS/Paul Haring) By Cindy Wooden and Gretchen R. CroweCatholic News Service MADRID (CNS) -- The mood at World Youth Day changed dramatically late Aug. 19 as Pope Benedict XVI and hundreds of thousands of young people turned their thoughts to suffering. The vividly painted, graphic statues that illustrated each station of Jesus' passion and death were accompanied by meditations focused on individuals, groups and nations enduring serious suffering today. Many young people -- even those blocks...

Official Response to CNA Article: http://www.realcatholictv.com/response/

The pope speaks despite the storm Despite gusting winds that blew off his hat and driving rain that cut short his sermon, Pope Benedict XVI spoke to a crowd that the Associated Press estimated at ”more than a million young people” Saturday night.In the middle of the crowd was 19-year-old Blanca Beas from Green Forest, Arkansas, who for a week has faithfully sent home photos and updates of her pilgrimage with 30 other kids and chaperones from two rural parishes near the Missouri border.“Pulling an all nighter with the Pope!! ” she texted home to anxious parents and friends worried...

The news outlets CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, and Newsweek have come under fire by Philadelphia’s incoming Archbishop, for a lack of “trustworthiness” where matters of religious faith are concerned. According to Archbishop Charles Chaput, the media do not “provide trustworthy information about religious faith. ” His comments were made Wednesday during an address on religious freedom before some 10,000 pilgrims at the Catholic World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain. Archbishop Chaput told the group of young faith-goers, “in the United States, our battles over abortion, family life, same-sex ‘marriage,’ and other sensitive issues have led to ferocious public...