Posts Tagged ‘World Youth Day’
Be Not Afraid
In this episode of our series looking back at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, we follow Magdalena Escoto. For her, going to World Youth Day was the perfect end to her college career, but she was not prepared for how gathering with Catholic Youth from around the globe would change her.
Magdalena talks about the highs and lows of the pilgrimage. Hear about her experience of extreme discomfort walking to the Vigil Mass, the doubts and fears she carried with her about her future, and how the words of hope from Pope Francis gave her sense of confidence in her future that she didn't realize she needed.
The Shroud of Turin at World Youth Day
Andrea Allesandri always wanted to go to World Youth Day, but was not sure how she could afford the trip. Fortunately, the work she was doing with the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston, Texas, opened the door to the possibility. Now, Andrea is traveling to Lisbon to participate in World Youth Day and teach people about the Shroud of Turin.
We Were Made for Greatness
Annie Nguyen had high expectations going into World Youth Day 2023! Now, looking back a year later, not only were those expectations met, they were exceeded!
Today Annie tells the story of how a chance encounter with a girl from Australia helped her see that not every souvenir is material. She remembers how a talk by Bishop Robert Barron helped her consider her priorities and how they do and do not lead her to God. And she shares how the witness of over 1 million youth from around the world made her reevaluate her own relationship with prayer and how recommitting to prayer changed her life!
Catholic Youth of the World Unite
Catholic youth from around the world gathered in Lisbon, Portugal to celebrate their faith during World Youth Day 2023. Joseph Troxler, a UST student active in his faith life, attended and experienced a sense of new sense of the Universal Church.
Today he shares his experience from World Youth Day. He explains how the pre-WYD trip to Spain was among the motivating factors in going. His family practices a devotion to the Carmelites and Our Lady of Fatima and Joseph shares how his visits to Avila, Toledo and Fatima illuminated his faith life. He is excited to be able to bring back and share his insights, photos and experiences with his family.
From there, he joined more than a million Catholic youth for the opening Mass. It was during this Mass where he first got a sense of how big the Body of Christ really is.
One of his key insights was Pope Francis as our shepherd. Joseph holds a special affinity for Christ the Good Shepherd, and this experience
Arise and Go with Haste
World Youth Day is more than another Catholic event, it is an intimate pilgrimage opportunity to experience the Universal Church with other young adults from around the world. Pope St. Paul ll began WYD in 1985 because he “imagined a powerful moment in which the young people of the world could meet Christ." Roughly every three years the youth of the world unite in a different country to celebrate the faith. In WYD 2023, students from the University of St. Thomas were able to experience a week of sacraments and encounter the Lord on a deeper level.
Follow along with them as they prepare to go to WYD 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. From packing their essentials to doing a mini 5 mile pilgrimage around Houston, TX, this group of young adults will experience a new outlook on their faith, identity and vocation. As they travel, they follow in Mary’s footsteps as they "arise and go with haste."
