WORLD Youth Day was a coming together of young people from nations throughout the world.
It was a public display and celebration of faith by young Catholics and Christians alike.
When I heard about World Youth Day, I knew that it was something for me. Sometimes it is hard to remain steadfast in the practise of your faith, especially when many other people your age spend their Sundays doing other things.
World Youth Day was a reconfirmation for me that the Catholic faith and the practise of such, is still alive among young people throughout the world today.
My hopes, before I left for World Youth Day, were that it would be a confirmation of the importance of my faith in my life and would give me the opportunity to witness how other young people throughout the world expressed and valued their faith.
Throughout my journey I had many great experiences.
One highlight for me was the catechesis session with Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor from England.
The event was an opportunity for us to mix with others from around the world and discuss issues of our faith.
We were also given the opportunity to have Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor answer any questions we had.
Another highlight was the pilgrimage walk to Cologne Cathedral.
Along the walk there were a number of thought-provoking axioms displayed on banners.
They made me stop and think about how I have lived my life so far and whether I have lived up to Christ’s example.
After our walk we then entered Cologne Cathedral, which was just amazing.
The detail in the architecture and the sheer size of the building was incredible.
It made me feel that I am such a small part of something so much bigger.
I felt humbled and spiritually moved.
The climax of the week was the vigil Mass.
It was just amazing to see so many young people in the one place celebrating their faith.
This whole experience has changed the way that I live my life and the way that I approach different situations.
Since coming back from World Youth Day, I feel a greater sense of Christ’s presence in my life.
I am really looking forward to the next World Youth Day in Sydney.
I will definitely be going to that and I hope that many other young Australian Catholics and Christians of other denominations take advantage of this opportunity to experience what I experienced in Germany.
I would also like to publicly thank Brisbane Catholic Education for sponsoring me to attend World Youth Day and a special thanks to the teachers who looked after us – Greg Sunter, Denise Gabbana, Jessica Tammens and Tim Malone.
Kathryn King
Student
St Mary’s College, Ipswich
