Maryknoll Father Rodrigo Ulloa-Chavarry and Maryknoll mission education promoter Sarahi Unzueta accompanied young Catholics from the United States during the World Youth Day gathering in Lisbon, Portugal. Here we share the testimonials of some pilgrims. (Conversations have been edited and condensed for clarity.)
To learn more about WYD 2023, read the article “Rising Up at World Youth Day” by Giovana Soria.
Allison Chou, 26, Seattle
It was cool seeing many Catholics at WYD, just interacting and meeting with each other, because there aren’t a ton of Catholics where I live. It’s hard to find a Catholic community in Seattle. I have been trying over the past year to get more involved in my faith. I thought joining this event would be a good way to do it. I think the world is becoming more and more secular, so just the affirmation of the faith is very important, to go out and evangelize others. I feel like it’s really easy, living in the United States, to kind of get stuck in your bubble and not consider people from other countries around the world. We have to be aware that there are other people out there who share the same faith. [It] is important. Everyone was very kind and welcoming. Having the opportunity to meet people from all over the world has been such a great experience. We have to keep in mind that their lives are just as important as our lives, and we are united by God’s love.
Jason Appelgate, a millennial, Seattle
This experience has been just one of joy, overflowing happiness and a great opportunity in my life. On this pilgrimage, I reflected on the motto of “making haste” with all the young people throughout the world. We must work together to advance the Kingdom of God. It was encouraging to see young people gathered together with so much energy for the Church and God. If we work together and coordinate throughout the world, we can be very successful in defending the Church. There were many saints in the crowd, and the saints would go out and spread the Good News. God gives us a very short time in life, and we must be very intentional about using that time wisely and prudently and make sure we do the good things of God. And that’s a good reflection on my life. I should not delay in doing all the things that need to be done in my life and [instead,] be very busy working for God.
Evelyn Beale, 29, California
In our local parishes, sometimes we can feel that our experiences of the Church are seeing the same people every Sunday and worshiping the same way, but we are part of something greater. World Youth Day was a beautiful reminder of how diverse our Church is and how much bigger it is than just us. I loved seeing people from other cultures, learning from them, and realizing how everyone had come together so seamlessly, even though we didn’t come from the same country. We just got each other on a spiritual level. That was really cool. The thing that stood out to me was how much energy and enthusiasm some of these groups had. They were running through the streets, singing, dancing and enjoying. I want that kind of life in our Church community back home. I would like to see us running through the streets, singing and dancing with our friends about God. I know that’s not practical in every day, but that spirit of enthusiasm and joy and excitement about our faith is something that I would love to do in some way.
Helena Coimbra, 21, Portugal
As a volunteer for the Rise Up catechetical sessions in my community of St. Joseph the Worker in Arroja, Lisbon, my job was to welcome and create a comfortable place for pilgrims from the U.S. and other places. In the beginning, it was a little hard because we didn’t know each other or speak the same language. But by the second day, everyone was happy, comfortable, interacting with other pilgrims, priests and bishops. We were thrilled to welcome faithful pilgrims and make friends. It was also an honor to have Pope Francis in Portugal, such a small country. It was really overwhelming and joyful to live that experience. The Holy Father is an important figure for all Christian communities and for young people. We felt good and blessed by his presence in our land, and loved his message of inclusion. He talked about everything – all the issues youth are confronting – and gave us hope for the future. If we continue to work together and create good relations with other people, we can accomplish good things for the Church.
Carlos Villagomez, 26, Seattle
I loved to see how all the people came together from different nations. We all shared the same faith, even though we used different languages. We celebrated our cultures and traditions, what we grew up with, what we practice at home and what we can bring to the world to share. The pilgrim hike we did was hard – a lot of walking and carrying two heavy bags on our backs. You wanted to make sure you were mentally, physically and emotionally prepared to join this pilgrimage. During this journey, I feel like I have been tested in many ways, sometimes with very little sleep, but Jesus was carrying us throughout the way. Being able to pray and see all of us bowing before Christ was an incredible experience. It just brought so much joy and peace to my life. Pope Francis connected all of us together as one community, welcomed us, told us to go out, and invite everyone to the Church. He really gave an inspirational message to the youth. I hope to share that message of love with everyone else.
Madison Chastain, 27, Chicago
My intention for this pilgrimage was to connect spiritually with my husband. My husband learned a lot about how we work together. There were a lot of moments when we were in a large group, and people had different ideas about what to do next. It was really reassuring that he and I typically had the same ideas about what to do next in different strategies to tackle a problem along the way. I will be taking that back with us for sure. It was also very powerful [to experience] the stations of the cross and the different prayers of the faithful at different events during WYD. The message of Pope Francis was what younger people wanted to hear. There were definitely great lessons in the events we participated in, particularly mental health and social media. Those [issues] are clearly … on the minds and hearts of young people. I would like to take those learning experiences back to my home, parish and job.
Feature Image: Bon Secours and Maryknoll young adults posed for a photo before they began their WYD pilgrimage to Campo de Graca in Lisbon, Portugal, where the pilgrims attended the evening vigil on August 5 and the Sending Mass on August 6. (Giovana Soria/Portugal)
