CLOSE TO 800 pilgrims from all over Ireland will travel to Madrid this weekend for World Youth Day, which begins on Tuesday in the Spanish capital.
Begun by Pope John Paul II in 1985, World Youth Day is a week-long gathering of young Catholics which takes place every two to three years.
The highlight of the week is a Mass on the Sunday morning delivered by the Pope to an estimated one million pilgrims who camp out from the night before to attend.
“It is a Catholic festival of faith in many ways, certainly a pilgrimage because it draws on young people travelling from all over the world,” explained Fr Liam Morgan, who is bringing a group of over a hundred young pilgrims from the parish of Kildare and Leighlin.
“Sometimes we associate pilgrimages with older people – but I think this has a particular focus entirely on young people. And when you are actually on these World Youth Days, there is a fantastic sense of colour, of celebration.”
Following an opening Mass on Tuesday evening, the pilgrims will take part in catechisms throughout the week to discuss various topics relevant to today’s Catholic Church.
On Thursday, a welcoming ceremony will be held for the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI, who will be meeting a number of youth groups before holding a vigil on Saturday night at which he is due to address those camping out for the Sunday morning Mass.
Fr Morgan described the pilgrimage as an opportunity for young people to express their faith.
Some 794 pilgrims are confirmed as going to World Youth Day from 17 dioceses around Ireland. They are joined by another 100 or so priests and lay leaders.
One young pilgrim travelling is Marie-Therese Duffy (21), from Ballina, Co Mayo. It is her first time to attend a World Youth Day and, after hearing from someone who went in the past, she became curious about how it might change her own religious perspective.
“I am still searching myself and I thought if I go something might come to me. It will be a great chance to meet people our own age instead of the old people usually at church stuff.”