Lisbon hosted World Youth Day from 1 to 6 August, which gathered thousands of boys and girls from all continents around Pope Francis. Among them also those of the parishes entrusted in Italy to the Doctrinaries: Vigevano, Vittoria, Salerno, Rome and Turin with the largest delegation. Father Andrea Marchini, pastor of Gesù Nazareno in Turin, accompanied and guided them. Giulia Fontanazza writes about her experience.
Look at the sky and count the stars if you can. Such will be your offspring This is the first sentence that comes to mind when I think back to what World Youth Day was for me and with it an image: a glimpse of the crowd preparing for the vigil, glimpsed between buildings and trees.
A moment of distraction is enough to feel like an insignificant little dot in the midst of so many people, but that’s not how I felt. He reminded the Pope these days that each of us is called by name. And so I felt called to something bigger than myself, called to encounter others and called to be with the Lord in a new way.
I unconsciously left with the expectation of an overwhelming and unmistakable emotion in which I would feel the Lord, of a single moment that would change my whole life, something so strong that it could give me the energy to face everything until the next opportunity to recharge. It was not so. I didn’t have the time to get overwhelmed by a great emotion, there was always something to think about and prepare for.
However, I had something that perhaps I needed more: I had the opportunity to see the Lord walking with me. I have seen it in many small daily miracles, in the effort that was a lot but never too much, in the support of my travel companions who kept me on my feet when I felt bad, in the songs, in the people I met and in the words I heard. Precisely because it was a continuous encounter it is difficult to tell, to find an order in something so large and complex although simple and close at hand.
For some years now that I have been taking care of children younger than me, I have been trying to make them aware of the beauty of the encounter with God, to give back what someone else has given me. To be food for someone, however, you have to feed yourself, and after a year of famine, I was starving. For this reason, although still exhausted from a week of summer camp, I got up and left quickly.
After a long journey with a stop in Lourdes for the night, we finally arrived in Sintra where there was the school that hosted us to sleep. Only from the next day did I really realize where I was, more precisely during the train journey to Lisbon. Relatives and friends have asked me how the city was but I can’t answer: in those days the city was completely reshaped by young people from all over the world. Every train, bus, street, church was completely filled with people eager to exchange something. It didn’t matter if we never saw each other again, everyone was a brother or sister, and as such they listened, told, gave or asked for advice, or simply taught me words in other languages or dialects. Even those who weren’t there for WYD were overwhelmed by the event and, despite the chaos we created, they welcomed us with kindness and enthusiasm.
In addition to meeting people, I bring many words with me, certainly those of the Pope but also those heard during the morning catecheses. One concept in particular marked me: love breaks. How many times have I heard the Greek myth of the perfect souls of men then divided by the jealousy of Zeus and condemned to wander in search of love to complete them again. Romantic idea but far from the Christian one of a love that leads to giving life. Definitely harder and scarier, but who cares if in the end you can say it was all worth it?
Maria was the guiding figure of this World Youth Day and on the way back she gave me one last gift for the conclusion of the event. Also on the way back we stopped in Lourdes but this time we had the opportunity to visit the grotto inside the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. In front of the cave I finally had the time and peace to start metabolizing the whole experience. After praying, I got up and saw some of my traveling companions sitting on the ground in silence, looking at the icon of Mary. I thank you for that silence, for that quiet closeness and for having had the opportunity to see that scene with eyes full of beauty.
It was a very rich experience, which helped me change my perspective and made me feel in the right place. It may seem trivial, but feeling understood and close to people is a rare and precious event in life. The only word suitable to describe the experience is perhaps only one: thank you.
