Our arrival at Marienfeld

Matteo and Chiara Bottazzi

Königsdorf, Germany, 7:30 am. Our group is ready to leave for Marienfeld, where the Pope will greet thousands of youth from all over the world, who have come to adore Jesus.

After a long walk, we reached the section we were assigned to, so we got to sit right in front of a giant screen where we would be able to see better what was going on. While waiting for the Pope to arrive from Italy, we received the sad news of the death of Uncle Santino, Sr. Gianna's uncle, who was known also by many SFPs. As Valeria said, “Sr. Gianna was an example for all of us, witnessing with great strength and faith in God's love at such a difficult and painful time.” All together we said the Rosary, in the midst of the crowd and loud music.

At 7 pm on the dot, Pope Benedict XVI arrived, and we all burst out in joy. Before the beginning of the vigil, the Pope wanted to remember his predecessor Pope John Paul II, by blessing a bell named after him. Cinzia, one of the youngest members of the group, said, “This struck me very much, because I was really attached to John Paul II.”

The platform stayed lit all night

During the homily, the Pope reminded us that the wise men prostrated themselves before Jesus, not as a sign of submission, but with the desire to encounter him. They - who were powerful leaders on earth—encountered another King, a small and fragile baby. Antonella said that she found mercy in the words, “Love of that God who came for the little ones, and I myself feel I'm a little one.”

After the homily, the Pope initiated a time for adoration but the screen in our section stopped working—went completely blank! This too was a powerful experience: Mara felt that God is present even in darkness, even when we don't seem to be able to see Him, or hear Him. Maybe this is what the wise men did as they were following the star. They were certain of its presence, even when they were unable to see it.

It was beautiful to see the whole field in Marienfeld all lit up with “the light of Christ.” The adoration of the Holy Sacrament continued all night. Some of us tried to sleep and some, as Paul, prayed to the Lord asking for light on a particular choice he had to make for his life.

Everyone felt how cold it was. Alessandro thought, “Even the baby in Bethlehem was cold, he was cold on the cross. But Jesus did this because he wanted to come down on the cold of humanity and warm it
up. So we have to go deeply into the cold, to encounter Jesus' warmth.”

The Liturgy… What a unique view of thousands of young people of many different cultures, united by the same drowsy feeling, who found strength to get out of their sleeping bags and listen once more, for the last time, to the Pope's words. Without realizing it, we had come to the apex of World Youth Day, and the hymn Venimus adorare eum, was not just a song, but a life commitment. Adoration cannot be superficial, but has to lead each one of us to make of Christ our own light. Benedict XVI expressed this idea very powerfully. In his homily, the Pope talks about us, about daily life. He tells us that the Gospel needs to enter into our daily choices, that God's Word needs to shine on the difficult journey of the Church.

The Pope compares the Church to a great field, where it is possible to find good grass and evil grass… he calls them weeds. In spite of this negativity, the Pope invites each one to do our part within the community, and to not fall into the temptation to create our own personal religion where we feel comfortable. As he speaks very humbly of the Church, recognizing her weaknesses and mistakes, he makes it feel closer to us, because it is made by people who, like us, have decided to embrace Christ. In this humanity, the Gospel needs to shine.

After the Liturgy, we begin the long walk toward home… we are tired, hungry and, like the wise men in the Gospel, we experience going back in a different way. Our group scatters. Sr. Gianna and Sr. Roberta wait for Paul who seems to have gotten lost, but in reality he had just made an important decision. By late afternoon we had all gotten home, but WYD had not ended. After dinner we gathered in the Chapel to share what these days had been for us.

We are all very tired, not everyone is able to talk… so Sr. Gianna, to wake us up a little, asks for a key word of our WYD, what gifts we come away with. Tiredness, courage, hope, love, difficulty in sharing. Then the moment comes to say goodbye to the Brazilians and the Americans: we are going to leave at different times and in different ways: some of us will take the plane, some the bus - like us and the youth from Senegal. The real challenge begins now: what we have heard and experienced during these days needs to be carried within our hearts.