Home from WYD

U.S.A.  Transitional Deacon Michal Tybinski, local Polish guide Tomaz, Stephanie Politi and Father Owen Moran, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in East Hanover, hold a U.S. flag at a World Youth Day event in Krakow, Poland held July 26 to 31.

CLIFTON  When sisters Katie and Kim Lennox dreamed of flying to some faraway land, they never could have imagined that the first plane ride they would ever take in their lives would be to see Pope Francis at World Youth Day (WYD) in Krakow, Poland.

With the support of their parish community, St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church in Sparta, the Lennox sisters, who are 20 and 18 years old respectively, were living that dream and have had their lives changed because of the weeklong experience encountering people from 187 countries and visiting beautiful cathedrals around the Central European country from July 26 to 31.

Kim Lennox said, “I was truly inspired by this experience. When this opportunity came, my sister and I knew this was something we could not miss. Hearing the Pope speak was amazing. He is contemporary and understands what we are going through.”

Like many young people, the sisters kept in touch with family “facetiming” and shared their WYD experience on social media every night. The younger Lennox sister posted a video of Pope Francis waving to her from the Pope­mobile. She garnered a lot of “likes” from that video and said, “My mom and my friends went crazy over it.”

The Lennox sisters were two of 37 diocesan representatives from 11 parishes in the Paterson Diocese who traveled to Krakow, along with two priests — Father Owen Moran, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in East Hanover, and Father Matthew Twiggs, pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Stock­holm and St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Oak Ridge. Anne Breslin of Great Experiences, Inc. coordinated the pilgrimage.

Both priests concelebrated daily Mass for the diocesan pilgrims in churches in Krakow. During some of these Masses, the two diocesan priests concelebrated Mass with an array of international clergy, including two French bishops.

Father Moran, who attended his first WYD, said, “This experience definitely changes you. As a priest and pastor, it was amazing to see the young people come alive at the presence of the Pope and that they were challenged to live their Catholic faith.”

More of a veteran to the WYD experience, Father Twiggs, who attended his fourth WYD, said, “The city of Krakow was absolutely beautiful. The people were extremely friendly and welcoming to us. I’m also grateful to the diocesan group, who were very supportive of one another and welcomed me with such hospitality.”

WYD was initiated by St. Pope John Paul II in 1985 and consists of an opening ceremony, daily catechesis, welcoming the Pope and Stations of the Cross. It culminates with a Saturday night vigil and a Sunday closing Mass.

For Father Moran, a moment he found life changing was the pilgrimage walk to the vigil site known as Campus Misericor­diae. “It was about a three-mile walk with heavy backpacks that held our sleeping bags and our food for the evening. It was difficult but I thought about the refugees around the world who were displaced because of war and oppression. I reminded the young people that after this day, we all had a warm place to sleep and we thought about them in solidarity,” said Father Moran.

A youth from St. Rose of Lima who was moved by the experience, was Victoria DeTrolio, 18. “I had no idea what to expect from WYD. It was incredible to see everyone in the world come together in union for our faith and for Jesus. I want to pass that on to everyone,” she said.

She told The Beacon she plans to volunteer more, “I plan on sharing what I have with others to help me accomplish that sense of faith and put it into action.”

Father Twiggs said a highlight for him was visiting the homes of St. John Paul II and the St. Faustina. “I have a devotion to Divine Mercy,” he said, “so it was great to visit the shrine. It was amazing the amount of people around the shrine who had tremendous faith. There would be people gathered on the grass near the shrine praying and having a great time together.”

Stephanie Politi, youth minister at St. Rose, felt a great sense of togetherness and love during the pilgrimage in Krakow. “We kept saying if everywhere in the world had this same spirit, there would be peace in the world,” said Politi. “There was a great sense of joy, gratitude and pride to see our young people interacting with people from all over the world. They spoke in different languages but they were singing together and worshipping together.”

At the closing Mass, Pope Francis announced that the next WYD will take place in Panama in 2019. Many of the diocesan pilgrims agreed that they hope they can be at the World Youth Day ever for Central America.

Father Moran said, “We entrust our future to the Lord and pray that the youth of America will boldly hand on the traditions of our faith for future generations to live as we live in the love and strength of Jesus.”