Nineteen UP students along with Campus Ministry and other UP faculty and alumni travel to Madrid, Spain for World Youth Day 2011
(Photos courtsey of Noelle Niedo)
By Enid Spitz Asst. Copy Editor spitz13@up.edu
In the hot Spanish sun this last month, UP's Fr. Gerry Olinger, C.S.C., sat 15 rows away from His Holiness Pope Benedict.
Olinger, along with 19 UP students, recent graduates Danielle Dellino and Jo Cecilio and Campus Ministry's Stacey Noem traveled to Madrid this summer for World Youth Day.
World Youth Day is an international event dedicated to cultivating the faith of Catholic youth worldwide. Held about every three years, this summer's event ran from Aug. 16-21 in Madrid.
The purpose of sending a group to World Youth Day, Olinger said, is for students to strengthen their individual faith and apply it to their UP lives.
"You are surrounded by people who are so alive in their faith," Olinger said. "The students bring back that experience to campus."
Class of 2011 graduate Cecilio agreed that the lessons of this trip will stay with her.
"Everyone was filled with so much life and spirit," she said. "I haven't been able to stop talking about it since I got back."
For Cecilio, encountering Holy Cross groups from Chile, Texas, and France impressed upon her the power of UP's order.
"It's amazing to see how Holy Cross is working all around the world," she said.
By far the most powerful part of World Youth Day for her was the music.
A musician herself, Cecilio explained that the religious melodies in Madrid helped her feel re-centered and grounded in her faith.
"I was completely moved, singing," she said."I really felt God move in me that day."
Rachel O'Reilly, a senior at UP who has volunteered on Moreau Center plunges before, said she went to World Youth Day in search of a spiritual experience. Like Cecilio, O'Reilly was not disappointed.
"The city was so welcoming," O'Reilly said. "It was awesome. We had a lot of fun."
The students encountered fellow Catholics from around the world and attended services with the Pope.
One day that Olinger explained as a highlight of the trip, the UP students met a group of Iraqi-Catholic pilgrims. He said talking to young people of faith from an area where the Church has been persecuted was incredibly powerful.
For O'Reilly, the night before the Pope's final Mass stood out. Participating in a World Youth Day tradition, the UP group made a pilgrimage to a large airfield to camp out for the night before mass.
Then a large storm poured rain down on Madrid.
"We just had blankets," O'Reilly said. "There was a huge thunderstorm. A lot of people left, but our group just united together and danced and had fun with the people around us."
Though the event was mostly in Spanish and some of the students had never traveled outside the country before, Olinger said connecting to other pilgrims was not a problem.
"It's amazing how much you can communicate," he said. "You end up talking to everyone."
The attendants exchanged gifts and flags. This inter-cultural interaction is a large part of the World Youth Day experience.
According to Olinger, over 1.5 million young people made the pilgrimage to Madrid this year.
For the UP group, the experience was also a chance to form a strong community together.
"Community was a big piece," Olinger said. "We were going to do this pilgrimage together."
After attending services and exploring the city during the day, O'Reilly explained, the UP group always re-united for an evening prayer and conversation.
"We would open and close the day together," O'Reilly said.
Over a year ago, Olinger explained, some students came to him and expressed interest in attending the event.
Students applied, raised funds and attended seven preparatory sessions together to prepare for their trip abroad.
"The pilgrims sold Voodoo donuts in the halls," Olinger said.
This is the second time a University group has traveled together to World Youth Day.
"This is definitely the biggest group UP has ever sent," Olinger said.
He attributed the large group to how interested UP students are in their faith, citing the increase in hall Mass attendance over the past year.
Olinger hopes to be able to continue the tradition, sending more UP groups in the years to come. And for students like O'Reilly, World Youth Day 2011 will have a lasting impact.
"That was an amazing experience," she said.
(Photos courtsey of Noelle Niedo)
