The proportion of Juventutem youths at WYD 2008 was nearly similar to the one at WYD 2005 in Germany, i.e. about one thousandth. In Cologne indeed we were roughly one thousand pilgrims registered with Juventutem out of one million, and nearly two hundred in Australia out of 215,000. Distance and travel costs had prevented many potential pilgrims from attending.

The French in particular, who represented the majority of the 2005 Juventutem contingent, had felt more inclined to stay at home, knowing that the Holy Father was to come and visit their country over the same summer in September for the 150^th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady in Lourdes. However, about twenty Francophones were present with Juventutem in Australia, including a very dynamic Swiss group. Their chaplain was Fr Jean-Cyrille Sow, FSSP, based in St-Etienne near Lyon, assisted by Fr Eric Iborra, from the archdiocese of Paris. Fr Iborra is a curate at the St-Eugene-St-Cecilia parish (www.saint-eugene.net) one of the few churches where the 1962 missal is publicly used in Paris.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of our US correspondent Indira Sweeny, a group of about 20 Americans had been constituted, coming from various parts of the country. Unfortunately, Fr Justin Nolan, FSSP had had to cancel his participation, due to some delays in finalizing a tutorial dvd on the 1962 Mass, made in collaboration between the FSSP and EWTN under his supervision (www.fsspdvd.com). Fr Buchholz, IKCSP (www.institute-christ-king.org) was therefore the only priest flying with the American group, but English language being officially used in all Juventutem activities, the US pilgrims had no difficulties participating once they had arrived in Australia. Had we have German pilgrims, Fr Buchholz could have provided additional pastoral support as he comes from Germany.

The Kenyan group had come with two priests, Fr Francis and Fr Charles Mwongera, from the Meru diocese. It had been a difficult process for them to raise the money for such an expensive journey. But in a country and a continent where the classical Roman liturgy is yet so scarcely used, it was most useful that they were able to come and partake in these Juventutem events at WYD so as to bear witness to the vitality of these traditions when back home. All these group chaplains had been sponsored by Juventutem.

The only other non Australian priest was Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP (sponsored by the FSSP as a representative of the General House of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter – www.fssp.org). Currently based in Switzerland, Fr de Malleray has been involved from the very beginning in Juventutem and is the Ecclesiastical Assistant of the International Juventutem Federation.

Like Frs Charles Mwongera, Buchholz and De Malleray, Fr Glen Tattersall had taken part in the 2005 Juventutem gathering in Düsseldorf and Cologne with other FSSP clergy and had very soon prepared with some Australian laity for WYD 2008. Over the last 3 years he had worked with patient dedication for the organisation of this liturgical festival through the “Juventutem-Australia” association. Under the Melbourne archdiocese, he now supervised the daily practicalities and (with the discreet assistance of Dr Chris Steward) ensured the program ran smoothly.

Fr Terence, OFM Conv. was in charge of the sacristy, a strategic position and a very demanding one as well. He also provided accommodation in Sydney for Frs Charles and Francis, while Frs Sow, Iborra and De Malleray (having spent the first week in Melbourne at a parishioner’s house) stayed at the local St Ezechiel house of the FSSP in Sydney.

Further FSSP clerics in Australia Frs Bill Define, Duncan Wong, Laurence Gresser and Deacon Marko Rehak got involved in different ways according to their abilities either in the Balmain church or in the Lewisham church or registering for hearing confessions or else at the Vocation Expo booth where Juventutem had been invited and where many Juventutem flyers were distributed. In addition, Fr Michael Rowe from Perth, Fr Greg Jordan, S.J. from Brisbane and other clergy regularly offering Mass according to the 1962 Missal participated in many Juventutem liturgical events.

Most of these clerics performed sacred functions during the many solemn and pontifical high masses both in Melbourne and Sydney. They were aided by a well trained team of young men who gave a lot of their time to prepare for the liturgies and give glory to God through a full unfolding of the 1962 rite of the Mass and of other liturgical actions. Special token of gratitude goes to John Paul, our indefatigable chief MC!

 

Doctrinal lectures by our chaplains were not as developed as had been the case during the first week in Germany in 2005. The French-speaking pilgrims seemed to get more themes discussed punctually. It must be said that much of our “free time” was spent attending the very fruitful chant workshops led by famous Gregorianist and choirmaster Scott Turkington (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Turkington) who had come from the U.S.A. especially to teach Juventutem pilgrims and conduct our schola and choir during our ceremonies. The results were of very good quality and the musical part of this Juventutem program has been an impressive achievement, matching the standards set at the last WYD in Wigratzbad and Düsseldorf.

 

 

Like in 2005 in Germany, Juventutem was honoured to receive the support of several bishops and cardinals.

On Wednesday 9^th July in Melbourne, Bishop Basil Meeking, Emeritus from Christchurch, New Zealand, and Patron of “Juventutem Australia”, gave a speech of presentation in the school hall and offered a pontifical high Mass in St Aloysius. He attended in choir at many of our ceremonies and on Friday 18 July in Sydney gave a catechesis and offered the last pontifical high Mass of the program. Bishop Meeking’s support to the Roman traditions of the Church is not new as he had tried his vocation at the Benedictine abbey of Fontgombault in France.

On Thursday 10^th July, Bishop Peter Elliot, Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne, offered a pontifical high Mass in Melbourne and again one week later in Sydney where he also gave a catechesis. Answering a question on Sacred Sriptures, Bishop Elliot suggested an interesting parable. He said the Holy Bible is like a family album, each of its books describing members of the same family. He went on saying that if a boy from the house next door were to creep in the house, steal the album and open it at home; he and his relatives would not be able to identify the pictures and the relationships between the persons in the book, simply because they are not from the family. Bishop Elliot said that, as evident from the Acts of Apostles, the Church already existed and functioned institutionally before the canon of Scriptures would be defined. He concluded by saying that only the (Roman Catholic) Church therefore is endowed with indefectible assistance from the Holy Spirit so as to interpret infallibly the Holy Scriptures, because the persons and events described in these books simply are “her family”. Bishop Elliot is a convert from Anglicanism and has studied in England. He has worked many years at the pontifical Council of the Family and has written books on the liturgy.

On Saturday 12^th July, Archbishop Hart of Melbourne offered a pontifical high Mass at the throne for Juventutem. We are particularly grateful to Archbishop Hart for having devoted a whole morning to Juventutem during what might have been the busiest week-end in his life as a bishop with almost 30,000 young pilgrims staying in Melbourne for the “Days in the Diocese”. Archbishop Hart had been for many years the pontifical ceremoniary in the diocese and knows the 1962 missal well. After Mass, the Archbishop shared lunch at the rectory with the clergy present.

On Wednesday 16^th July, Bishop Geoffrey Jarret of Lismore (an Australian diocese near Brisbane) gave a catechesis and offered a pontifical high Mass in Sydney for Juventutem. He stayed for the local picnic and spoke with the young people and with the clergy. Bishop Jarret sometimes offers Mass in the classical form, occasionally supplying for the diocesan priest in charge of that Mass.

 

 

 

The highlight of the Juventutem liturgical program was undoubtedly the pontifical vespers presided by Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, like he had already done in Düsseldorf in 2005. The lack of room in the sanctuary of St Augustine church (much smaller than Sankt Antonius in Düsseldorf) prevented the wearing of the capa magna. But the importance of the event was enhanced by the fact that this time Cardinal Pell was not a visiting bishop like in 2005, rather he obviously was the chief prelate hosting the WYD during that week, hence was kept fairly busy with 215,000 youths and thousands of visiting clergy! The fact that in the midst of such a busy schedule he would pray with Juventutem in the classical Roman rite was a very significant manifestation of his support to the Roman traditions of the Church in general and of the Juventutem movement in particular. After vespers the Cardinal gave a sermon encouraging the Juventutem youths, followed with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. He told the pilgrims that he was about to go and welcome the Holy Father with whom he was to dine. He added that he would tell him where he had just been and that he would be glad to assure him of our loyalty and love. Contrasting with the silence constantly observed by the faithful in the churches where Juventutem operates, this announcement by the Cardinal was followed with applause expressing joyful and filial reverence for the Prince of the Church and for the Vicar of Christ. The whole ceremony had lasted two full hours, after which the Cardinal went to the nearby presbytery to be interviewed by the same EWTN crew who had filmed the vespers and benediction. St Augustine was packed with pilgrims, faithful and clergy, a fair number of whom were registered with other movements or dioceses and had spontaneously gathered with Juventutem on that great and solemn occasion.

 

Two hours later, at 8pm, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago came to conclude this busiest day of our program with the recitation of the twenty mysteries of the Holy Rosary (in Latin) at the intention of the Holy Father. Cardinal George had already prayed the Rosary with the Juventutem youths in Düsseldorf in 2005 and was glad to visit us again, giving a meditation for each of the four series of mysteries. At the end, all lights were switched off in the church, but for a few candles at Our Lady’s altar and the Salve Regina was sung. Cardinal George then met some of the clergy in the sacristy. This was particularly moving for Fr Charles Mwongera, our Juventutem chaplain in Kenya. Then a seminarian for the Meru diocese, Fr Charles had already been introduced to Cardinal George after the Rosary in Düsseldorf and was now greeting him again, this time as a priest. Last year Fr Charles had been invited in England to learn the classical form of the Mass and now provides pastoral support for a group of about 20 Juventutem youths in Kenya, two of whom had been able to travel to Australia for WYD.

 

Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong had been invited long ago to partake in our activities but at the time was unsure whether he would be able to attend WYD at all. It was a great surprise when on Friday night 18 July he rang a member of our Juventutem Honk Kong group and told him that he was in Sydney after all and wished to come and attend our Mass at 9am the following morning. This great honour simultaneously brought a certain anxiety among the clergy and masters of ceremonies, as no rehearsal had been planned for a solemn high mass in the presence of a cardinal! Finally Cardinal Zen arrived in full red choir dress and sat at the throne where he received special incensation and sign of peace during the Solemn High Mass offered by Fr McCaffrey, FSSP, chaplain to Juventutem in Sydney.

After he had proclaimed the Gospel (as the Deacon at this Mass), Juventutem Ecclesiastical Assistant Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP gave a formal presentation of the Juventutem International Federation and reminded the pilgrims of the fact our liturgical charism would be justified according to the fruits of sanctification it would bring in our lives and in the world. The objective beauty of the liturgical program offered by Juventutem in Australia was not to remain in the future only as striking pictures on our websites and blogs but had to foster an always deeper knowledge and love of God and of his Church. To that end, Fr de Malleray encouraged the creation of local Juventutem groups, as already exist on every continent. Such groups are linked together through the International Juventutem Federation and provide a permanent framework for the daily sanctification of youth according to the Roman traditions of the Church. Fr De Malleray ended quoting the letter of encouragement sent to the members of the International Juventutem Federation by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos in January this year. In it the President of the Pontifical Ecclesia Dei Commission wrote that the diversity of origins of the Juventutem members demonstrates the transcendence and timelessness of the classical liturgy.

Fr MacCaffrey then gave the homily, referring to St Vincent de Paul (whose feast it was) as a great model a charity. He exhorted the young pilgrims to seek and spread divine charity.

After the Last Gospel, Cardinal Zen gave a beautiful talk, recalling his memories as a young Salesian novice. He said the name “Juventutem” was very well chosen since the liturgy is ever youthful and helps us care for the spiritual youth secured through friendship with God. He also asked us to pray for the Church in China. He praised the traditional custom of reciting the Prayer to St Michael the Archangel at the end of Low Masses in the 1962 missal, stressing that although this custom had originally be instituted for the conversion of Soviet Russia, communism was far from dead in China. He added that he hoped someday the classical form of the Mass could be offered in Our Lady’s shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai. After Mass, the Cardinal asked that pictures be taken of him with the Juventutem Hong Kong group. It was a very deep joy for our fellow members to be able to stand in front of the church with their own bishop from overseas.

Building on these signs of trust and affection expressed to us anew, it is hoped that at the next WYD some Cardinals will be able to accept Juventutem’s invitation to offer Mass in the classical form.

 

We are also grateful to the parishioners in Sydney who welcomed our pilgrims in their own homes. They had to wait late at night and to be very flexible to collect lost luggage etc. Many families would actually drive the pilgrims to our church for catechesis. Once on a train, Fr Sow even had the surprise of being offered a lift in taxi by an unknown Catholic. Not only did that gentleman hire a cab, but he waited until Fr Sow’s catechesis was over and drove him home afterwards!

 

 

A great episode was the solemn arrival of the Holy Father on Sydney harbour on Thursday afternoon 17 July. Juventutem having received special permission to join the Papal boat-a-cade, about 15 Juventutem delegates were able to embark on a motor boat hired for the occasion. Our Juventutem boat - with the Juventutem standard floating wide spread in the wind - made its way to the bay from where the papal ship was to arrive. Police boats were posted every 500 meters or so and about 7 helicopters were patrolling over us. The weather was superb and all was becoming very exciting.

We waited a long time until a large yacht appeared and came in our direction. The red and white figure of the Holy Father was clearly visible at the front. The whole boat-a-cade started converging towards the papal nave escorted by helicopters and police boats. The shores and banks were literally crowded with pilgrims greeting Pope Benedict. It was an amazing sight, to contemplate the Vicar of Christ entering the great city by sea, with the Sydney skyline and famous opera and bridge in the foreground. On our small Juventutem ship, we felt it was a true grace to be able to sail alongside Peter’s Successor’s ship. As we had just overtaken a “media boat” filled with photographers and cameramen, one of our priests on board was called on his mobile phone and told by his mother that she had just seen him live on television!

The papal nave then arrived along Barangaroo and the Holy Father disembarked. Our Juventutem crew was allowed to do the same at a nearby wharf, after a police boat had checked our identity. We set foot on a street busy with policemen and journalists only. Being told that the Holy Father was to exit Barangaroo precisely through this street, we were able to spread our Juventutem banners along the barrier and rehearse the “Tu es Petrus”! After a long time, the official motorcade drove off with the popemobile in its midst. The Holy Father was driven along our group and we were able to see him from very, very close. He blessed us as we sang the “Tu es Petrus”. Of course the majority of the Juventutem pilgrims were gathered at Barangaroo where they could listen to Cardinal Pell’s powerful words and to the Holy Father’s. What an amazing afternoon!

 

 

 

After the Stations of the Cross on Friday afternoon, a solemn high Mass was offered at 8pm in Maternalheart Church in Lewisham (one of the three churches hosting Juventutem activities together with St Aloysius, Melbourne and St Augustine, Balmain). July 18^th 2008 happened to be the twentieth anniversary of the foundation of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter. For that reason this Mass took place in the church entrusted to the FSSP by Cardinal Pell in his archdiocese. The choir sang beautifully and the sermon spoke of the evangelisation of the youth through Juventutem.

 

After the last Juventutem Mass in Balmain on Saturday morning (July 19^th), Frs Tattersall and De Malleray concluded the Juventutem program and we were instructed to make our way to the cathedral where we might have a chance to see the Holy Father. Once we got there unfortunately barriers surrounding the house where he was prevented us from getting any further and we decided to depart for Randwick.

This 7 km walk seemed a mere stroll for those among us who had partaken in the Christus Rex pilgrimage in Australia, or the one to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the U.S.A., or else the “Notre-Dame de Chrétienté” Pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres in France. We arrived only to find that our allocated area was already full and had therefore to find another place.

It is sad that during the nearly 5 hours we waited until the Holy Father’s arrival, loudspeakers provided us with a lot of pop music but no spiritual nourishment. It had started well with a moving testimony given by John Pridmore, a former gangster now converted. Actually, during all that time, he was the only one who delivered any formal doctrinal teaching to the crowd, when he described his discovery “of the Real Presence of Jesus, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist”! When one thinks of these thousands of young people gathered there in the expectation of the Vicar of Christ, one can only regret that nothing had been planned to seize such a unique opportunity and “refresh” the youths’ knowledge on the Holy Eucharist and on other fundamentals of our Catholic faith, whatever the good quality of the three catechesis delivered the days before by the bishops (and Juventutem was glad to have heard articulate and profound ones). Juventutem is attentive to providing clear doctrinal support to the intellects of the youths, whose thirst for the truth and speculative ability should not be underestimated, as the Holy Father himself demonstrated in his intellectually challenging sermons in Randwick.

At about 7pm, Fr De Malleray led us in the prayer of the Angelus in Latin. At sunset Frs McCaffrey and De Malleray were met by Frs Sow and Iborra whose French-speaking group had just arrived. Some of us started to pray the rosary kneeling in the direction of one of the tents where the Blessed Sacrament was. But loud music or animation made it difficult to concentrate. Our priests went to hear confessions and seemed to have been kept busy over the evening. The Holy Father had arrived and the evening went on with a moving papal address followed with the invocation of the saints and Benediction. This must have been one of the most important moments in WYD when, under a cloudless dark blue sky with full moon, over a quarter of a million youths from all over the world stayed kneeling in front of the same Saviour really present in the monstrance, with the beloved Vicar of the same Christ at their head. The Holy Father then departed. Night was cold and the pilgrims meritoriously offered up this lack of comfort. Some went to adore the Lord under the tents.

 

 

 

In the morning, more pilgrims arrived with Frs Tattersall, Terence and other clergy. The Mass was lively but not exactly what we would have chosen. There was a special moment of silence for recollecting though. The Holy Father gave a long homily on which we would have much to meditate later on: “In today’s second reading, the Apostle Paul reminds us that each and every Christian has received a gift meant for building up the Body of Christ. The Church especially needs the gifts of young people, all young people. She needs to grow in the power of the Spirit who even now gives joy to your youth and inspires you to serve the Lord with gladness. Open your hearts to that power! I address this plea in a special way to those of you whom the Lord is calling to the priesthood and the consecrated life. Do not be afraid to say “yes” to Jesus, to find your joy in doing his will, giving yourself completely to the pursuit of holiness, and using all your talents in the service of others!”

In this extract, the words “the Spirit who gives joy to [our] youth” sounded like a familiar quote from Psalm 42, the official prayer of Juventutem: “Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam: I will go unto the altar of God, to God Who gives joy to my youth”. One wonders whether the Holy Father meant to quote Psalm 42 as part of the Prayers at the foot of the altar in the 1962 missal or just as an appropriate biblical reference. However, it is significant that he quoted this verse as an encouragement for priestly and religious vocations. The spiritual youth leads to a filial “Yes”, a joyful surrender to the divine will, whatever the Good God may ask of us.

We received Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue from Fr Terence, followed in this practice by many other pilgrims around us. We felt glad that the Holy Father was simultaneously distributing Holy Communion himself just in the same way. During that time, Frs Sow, De Malleray and Iborra were vested with surplices and stoles hearing confessions.

The Mass ended with the Angelus prayed in Latin and the announcement of the next WYD to take place in Madrid, Spain, in 2011. We were glad that Juventutem had already a group in Spain and that apparently they had been informed months ago of the possibility of hosting the next WYD in their country. Everybody then walked back to the city in a very cheerful atmosphere.

 

 

In the evening, there was a farewell supper for a fair number of Juventutem pilgrims and we said good bye, hoping that we may see each other even sooner than in three years. Various encounters occurred at the airport the following day, like the one which took place at the check-in when our members from Hong Kong had the opportunity of being introduced to Primate of the Gauls Cardinal Philippe Barbarin. The Cardinal was impressed that some of them spoke French and they were touched when he recited the Pater Noster in Cantonese.