Starship EuroFraMe: August 27th 2012

Ready, steady, go!

The beginning of our meeting was as explosive as we were! We welcomed all the young guests all day long (people coming from Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherland, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Lithuania) and in the conference room gathered more than 300 boys and girls. We began with the prayer, welcoming the arrival of the Saint Damian Crucifix and praying with the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy in the different languages. In the end, it was real fun with the celebration of the nations, where each country and culture introduced itself, joining here to celebrate Christ’s love.

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The linguistic “melting pot” of four languages (Polish, Spanish, Italian and English) makes everything more complicated for sure, but it’s not a real obstacle, since we’re working hard as a group. It’s real team work, however, the linguistic and cultural differences cannot compete with the engagement, care, dedication and love through which all duties are accomplished, in keeping with the whole project. All this is possible not only thanks to the volunteers’ work, 20 from Poland, 2 from Spain, 2 from Italy, 2 from England, but also and above all to the organizers, Br. Augustyn, Br. Manolo, Br. Danny and Br. Federico.

Br Federico, not able to join the event, keeps on working for the event from home. A distance which is only physical.

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On the same day of the celebrations for the Madonna of Czestochowa, during the Mass we asked the Lord to support us in our work, our aims and intentions, enjoying at the same time some of the most beautiful voices of young Polish girls and boys.
So, let’s go! There is a lot to do, a lot to say ….. a lot … to love!

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The EuroFraMe starship is ready to go and is quickly approaching the destination! Keeping in mind, meanwhile, that it is also important to enjoy the journey….

We had a very busy day: in the morning Sister Gabrielle (OSC) has given the first of the catechesis scheduled on our program; boys and girls had some time to discuss about it, divided into groups on the basis of the different languages.

In the afternoon, the Stations of the Cross took place, where boys and girls, friars and volunteers played in order to make the 14 stations as much real as possible.

In the evening, a wonderful show has been played by the “A theatre”, a sort of musical on Saint Francis’ life.

Greetings from an enthusiastic crowd!

Peace and good!

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29 August, Today as well we started with prayer. In the morning, Br. Massimo gave his catechisis in the conference room, crowded as usual. Eight different activities took place in the afternoon, all around the pilgrim house: singing, dancing, painting, magic, construction of rosary, movie, games on peace and the museum. Three sections of one hour each, to allow boys and girls to join more than one activity.

At the end of the day, a big party had been organised, a concert, in the same conference room, a multifunctional room.

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30-31st August 2012. The day started with a Mass and then a catechesis, the last on the schedule, which has been given by the organisation committee half in Spanish, by Fr. Manolo, and half in English, by Fr. Danny. As usual, after the conference all the language groups gathered to share opinions and experiences.

In the afternoon, some of us, both young people and religious, witnessed their experience of faith in different languages. We could understand them thanks to our translators, who have been a constant and essential presence during the meeting.

In the evening, we have had a Vigil of Mary in the Sanctuary of St Anne, thanking our holy Mother for the amazing EuroFraMe we were concluding. A party followed this celebration.

On Friday morning, to conclude the meeting, we had a Mass, at the end of which Fra Carlo Serri the place of the next EuroFraMe had been announced: Lourdes!

With great joy, we send this last chronicle, waiting impatiently the next event and thanking all those who have made this EuroFraMe possible, like a miracle, a real blessing.

Before the Holy Mary of Cheztokowa all the participants thank for this EuroFraMe, a gathering of brotherhood.

Pax et Bonum

The young people of UFME

In the summer of 2011, some members of our Franciscan Parish in the Gorbals area of Glasgow teamed up with some students from the University of Glasgow Catholic Chaplaincy to form a pilgrimage group which travelled to Madrid in Spain for the World Youth Day (WYD) led by Pope Benedict XVI.

Having already met as a group on various occasions in preparation for this great event, we began our pilgrimage journey with an overnight stop in Barcelona, visiting the Sagrada Familia Basilica designed by Gaudi, and the Gothic Quarter of the old city. From Barcelona we drove in convoy to Lourdes in the south of France to visit the shrine where Our Blessed Lady appeared to Saint Bernadette in 1858. And though I personally have been to Lourdes on many occasions, I have never seen such huge crowds gathering for the candle-light procession. There were a number of very large international pilgrimage groups, and like ourselves there were many WYD pilgrims who travelled to Lourdes, to pray before the Grotto where Our Blessed Lady appeared, before heading south to Madrid.

After two nights in Lourdes we drove to Madrid for the week of prayer, catechesis and celebrations leading up to the celebration of the holy Mass with Pope Benedict in the Cuatro Vientos, a disused airfield on the outskirts of the city. Accommodation in Madrid was basic, a camping mat and sleeping bag laid out on a small patch of floor in a school sports hall on the outskirts of the city filled with over two hundred other pilgrims from various parts of the world. Needless to say there was very little sleep in the first couple of nights, but after the third day in the sweltering heat it is amazing how much you begin to look forward to and become attached to your small patch of  sports hall floor.

On each morning we gathered together in the local parish Church for prayers, catachesis classes led by various bishops, and the celebration of the Mass. It was encouraging to see the enthusiasm that young adults have in learning about their Catholic faith. The afternoons were then free for us to explore the city of Madrid. And heading into town each day the atmosphere in the city centre was absolutely incredible. It was a carnival, party-like atmosphere, with singing and music and flag-waving filling the streets and main squares.

In the week before we flew out to Spain so much of the media attention had been given to the riots in London and other cities throughout England, which really gave a depressing image of the youth of today. But in Madrid an estimated 2 million young people came together and yet as far as I know not one of them was arrested for bad behaviour. There was no trouble at all from the young pilgrims but sadly the media were simply not interested in the good behaviour of the huge crowd of young people that filled the streets of Madrid.

On the day the Pope arrived (Thursday 18^th August), we made our way to the city centre to find a spot on the edge of the Plaza de Cibeles, near where the Pope would pass by in the Popemobile for the opening ceremony and welcome. Five hours before he was due to arrive the place was already crowded. As a group we managed to squeeze into a spot near the barriers as the temperatures soared to over forty degrees centigrade. With the crowds pressing in behind us we knew we would have to stay in this spot until the Pope arrived. And yet despite the five-hour wait the time flew by with the singing and dancing and chatting to people from all over the world, as the firemen made their way through the crowds spraying people with water to cool them down from the heat of the blazing sun. When the Pope finally arrived the cheers of the crowd grew even louder and more joyful.

I found myself asking, at a time when the media are so critical of the papacy, why so many young people are attracted to the Pope. And I began to realise that it is more than just a fickle and short-lived attraction that is here today and gone tomorrow. It is different to the celebrity culture which so many people follow in our society. And it is more than just an affection for an elderly gentle grandfatherly type of figure. I think that what ultimately attracts the young people to the Pope is the recognition that, despite the faults and failings of the Church, the Pope represents and points the way to something and someone far greater than himself. When speaking to the youth it is clear that they recognise that the Pope points to Jesus Christ. Deep down I believe this is what attracts young people to the Pope in such large numbers.

On the Saturday (20^th August), we made our way to the Cuatro Vientos for the prayer vigil with the Pope. The police told us that an estimated 1.7 million people entered the airfield that day with a further 0.5 million camping overnight in the streets outside the airfield before being squeezed in the next morning. As the Pope began the prayer vigil a thunderstorm and mighty winds blew in from behind us. The security guards could be seen trying to move the Pope away but it was clear that the Pope was determined to stay with the young people and to ride out the storm with them. And the storm itself did not dampen the spirits of the youth as they continued to sing and to chant the Pope's name and to pray for an end to the storm. And when the storm finally passed by the youth were still standing and the Pope was still with us. It was so symbolic of the Church that in recent times has been through a storm but is still standing; it has been weakened but at the same time it has been cleansed by the winds of the Holy Spirit. The prayer vigil continued with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as a crowd of nearly 2 million people fell silent. The prayer vigil was for many people the most powerful experience of the whole WYD event.

The next morning we were woken over the loud-speakers and asked to clear up our sleeping bags as soon as possible to make more room for the 0.5 million pilgrims who had camped overnight in the streets outside the airfield. And with a crowd of over 2 million people we celebrated the most holy sacrifice of the Mass with the Pope, the highest point of our pilgrimage journey.

The German Shepherd, with his soft voice and gentle smile, and honest pursuit of the truth to be found in Jesus Christ, had won the hearts of so many young people. And it was clear that the young people had won the heart of the Pope. I came away from the WYD uplifted and encouraged by the fact that so many young people take their faith seriously. The whole experience had been a joy-filled and prayerful atmosphere that for me was a grace in itself. I look forward to Brazil where the next WYD is due to take place in a couple of years' time.

(Br. Antony Jukes OFM)

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