Walking on water

This morning we made our way to North Sydney and then began the two hour pilgrimage that would see us arrive at Randwick Racecourse. The Saturday pilgrimage is an integral part of the experience of World Youth Day, and this year's walk was among the most picturesque ever.

Only on exceptional occasions is the Sydney Harbour Bridge closed to traffic, but this morning, the ebb of pilgrims began at 5:30 am. Even before the sun had risen, the parade of pilgrims had begun, and by 11:00 am when we joined them, there was a constant stream of humanity traversing the Sydney Harbour. Pilgrims traveling in groups would stop from time to time to take pictures of themselves standing above the harbour, overlooking the Opera House and Darling Harbour.

Once across the bridge, the procession continued into Darling Harbour and then through the streets of the Central Business District to the Randwick Racecourse. At Randwick, we then had to find our way into our designated gates and then to our designated pod. By 2:30 pm, the pilgrimage was complete and we found ourselves ready for a well-deserved rest. At one point, lying on the grass, we opened our eyes to discover that the area around us, which was all but deserted when we had first arrived, had been transformed into a sea of tents, their inhabitants part of a larger group of pilgrims from Italy.

It wasn't long before every square metre of grass was occupied. Throughout the remainder of the afternoon, we spoke with some of our neighbours, rested, and kept drinking liquid. The Australian sun can often be deceiving - even in the dead of winter, the sun can be scorching and dehydration becomes a very serious problem, combined with the risk of sunburns. The funny thing is that once the sun sets - approximately at 5:00 pm these days - the temperatures plummet, and the warmth of the sun is replaced by the frigidness of winds and cool night air.

This night was to be different because as the sun set, the undulation of voices and movements of people continued, and the presenters began the evening program which included various musical performances, highlighted by the arrival of the Holy Father himself who presided at the evening vigil.

World Youth Day vigils are typically moments of deep prayer for some and certainly moments of conversion for others. They are usually built around a certain theme, and since the theme of this years encounter was You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses (Acts 1:8) the evening vigil included a series of testimonies from youth in various languages, and the presentation of twenty-four (24) candidates for Confirmation who would be confirmed by the Holy Father during the closing Mass on Sunday evening.

• Address of His Holiness at Randwick Racecourse (Sydney) during the evening vigil, Saturday, July 19, 2008

The Vigil, a spectacular moment of prayer which saw young people at prayer in the light of thousands of candles, and included profound moments of silence as they were invited to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, came to an end around 9:00 pm local time. From that moment, a series of musical performances continued until 10:00 before the pilgrims were invited to bed down for the night.

In former years, WYD festivities traditionally take place in the height of summer. July and August nights in the Northern Hemisphere are usually warm and pleasant, but July in Australia is the depth of winter, so the ambient temperature at night can fall to only 5 degrees celsius. Needless to say, there was much movement afoot and the young people continued to sing and dance - sometimes more as a way to keep warm - until they were utterly exhausted and crawled into their sleeping bags for the night, wearing all the clothes they had brought with them.

Even though on a practical note, some pilgrims were treated for hypothermia, for the most part, those gathered were well prepared for the 'naturally air conditioned' situation.