World Youth Day 2002

Bishop Nienstedt, along with 32 pilgrims from the New Ulm diocese, travel to Toronto, Canada for an experience of a life time!

by Bill Casey

Youth and young adults from the New Ulm Diocese joined thousands of other pilgrims in Toronto, Canada, for a time of refreshing their faith and making new friends from around the world. Our group of 32 pilgrims from the New Ulm Diocese left by bus on July 20 and headed for Toronto by way of Kalamazoo, MI. We met Bishop Nienstedt who had made arrangements for us to stay overnight in the parish. The following morning, Bishop Nienstedt celebrated Mass with us. He then led us on an informative tour of the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oaks, MI where he had served as Pastor. After the tour we enjoyed a lunch and then headed for Toronto, and arrived in the evening.

On Monday morning we departed for Peterborough, Ontario, for the "Day in the Diocese," where we joined 5,000 - 7,000 other pilgrims from different parts of the world. A Mass was celebrated for the entire group, followed by a picnic and various concerts. In the evening, back at the hotel where we were staying, Chris Padgett, from the Scarecrow and Tinmen band, joined the group and shared his music and faith experience.

Tuesday was the official opening ceremony of World Youth Day at the Exposition Plaza in downtown Toronto. There were events constantly taking place: concerts, drama presentations, videos, and many other things to see and do. Catechetical sessions were held on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and our group went each day to Good Sheppard parish to attend these sessions. As diocesan Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry from the Diocese of New Ulm, I was asked by the Bishops’ Office in Washington to be the Animator or M.C. for both the Thursday and Friday sessions. The New Ulm pilgrims were involved each of these days and presented a theme for the day. They especially encouraged the visitors and pilgrims to meet others. Each morning the church was filled with 600 - 700 people and Mass was celebrated at the end of the day.

On Thursday, Bishop Zavala from Los Angeles presented the message for the day on the theme "You Are the Light of the World." The arrival ceremony for the Holy Father was on Thursday also at the Exposition Plaza and our group was within a few feet of where the Pope passed by as he traveled through the crowd. This was an exciting moment and a great place to be to see the Holy Father.

On Friday Archbishop O’Brien, from St. John’s Newfoundland in Canada, was the presenter with a message about reconciliation. He said that we are to be reconciled with all people. In the evening, the Way of the Cross was held in downtown Toronto and hundreds of thousands of people gathered along the street for this event. The processional cross for World Youth Day was carried through the streets, and a man portraying Jesus carried another cross through the streets. It was difficult for our group to see much of the Way of the Cross due to the distance we were from the procession. Later in the evening we shared in our own Way of the Cross service before we left the downtown area.

The New Ulm seminarians were a real blessing to have traveling with the group, especially since they helped organize the many prayer times.

Bishop Nienstedt also spent a significant amount of time during the week with our group and this provided a great opportunity for interaction with many of the group members.

Saturday morning after Mass, the more in-depth time of the pilgrimage began. We had to walk 3 - 4 miles into the Downs View Park, carrying sleeping bags and anything else needed for the vigil and the closing Mass with the Holy Father. Buses were not allowed to drive pilgrims into this area of the park and thus provided some of the challenging elements of a pilgrimage: overcoming fatigue, the heat, and sometimes hunger. Our group persevered with hundreds of thousands of other pilgrims and we were given a grassy area from which we could view the day’s activities on stage and the evening vigil with Pope John Paul II. There were no shelters in this area, other than 7,000 mini-biffs, which were welcome places when needed.

Saturday evening the Holy Father arrived by helicopter for the vigil and traveled through the crowd of cheering pilgrims in the Pope mobile. This prayer and vigil service was beautiful. There were lit candles everywhere! The vigil lasted until approximately 11:30 p.m., at which time it seemed that the events were over for the evening. However, a new wave of events began about midnight: concerts began and continued until 3:00 a.m. Around 4:30 a.m. it began to rain. All those with tarps or any form of shelter shared with others close by. Rain and wind filled the time until the Holy Father’s arrival for Mass on Sunday morning. Remarkably, after the Holy Father arrived, the rain stopped, the wind died down, and the sun came out.

The Pope spoke with a strong voice and occasionally joked with the youth. The youth were energized by the Holy Father in a very special way and he certainly seemed to energize them as well. The Mass with Pope John Paul II, which concluded World Youth Day 2002, ended in the warm sunshine.

On Sunday afternoon, we hiked out of the park to the bus and began our trek back to Michigan where we stayed the night in Benton Harbor. After being out in the elements of wind, rain and sun in the park for two days, the showers and beds at the hotel were greatly appreciated! The next morning we were able to go to a local state park where Bishop Nienstedt celebrated Mass with us before we headed back to New Ulm.

The experience of World Youth Day is a unique one. No other event in the world brings together so many people. Although it is an event especially for youth and Catholics, people of all ages and of other faiths come from all over the world to share in this experience. Catholics can be especially proud to know that the Holy Father offers the opportunity of this great event to all Catholics, as well as to all who desire to share and participate in such a special time in the church.

Many youth and young adults had to work hard and do the necessary fund raising in order to make such a trip possible. Bishop Nienstedt also had assistance in acquiring an outside scholarship, which aided in the funding for New Ulm pilgrims. While there are many sacrifices made for such an event, there are also many benefits and blessings. There were many small miracles shared along the way and the blessings of this experience for many of the group members will last a lifetime.