Skip to main content

Bem-vindos! Five Days Away!

 We are FIVE days away from setting off to Portugal! 

World Youth Day is a world wide encounter with the Pope celebrated about every three years in a different country. This event is an opportunity for young adults to personally experience the universality of the Catholic Church, and to share with the whole world the hope of many young people who are committing their lives to Christ. World Youth Day was started by Pope, St. John Paul II and was first held in Rome in 1986.


26 Pilgrims are embarking on this pilgrimage from All Saints University parish. This consists of two priests (Fr. Tom Orlando and Fr. Cesar Martinez), three seminarians (Josue, Patrick, and Saul) and 21 young adults from our community. 


It may seem like our pilgrimage begins next Tuesday, but as we’ve been telling our pilgrims, it began when we first said “yes” to God’s invitation to encounter him in this radical way. From accepting our Father’s invitation, we then invited all of you to partake in this pilgrimage with us through our different fundraisers. A pilgrimage is not a vacation, but as Pope Benedict XVI explained,


“To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art or history. To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendor and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe.”


We will be gone from July 25-August 8th and will take nothing more than a backpack on our backs. Yes, this means we will only be taking a few pairs of clothes, toiletries, and other small essential items.


In the midst of the chaos and confusion of this world today, it is so easy for young people to get caught up in sin that the world has and is still trying so hard to normalize. Our culture has moved away from Christendom and young people are thirsting to know Jesus Christ more than ever. That is why we are so grateful as young adults to have this opportunity to step outside of ourselves and encounter God in an extraordinary way. 


Our goal to raise over $100,000 was accomplished through fundraisers, donations, and individual pilgrim contributions! Some of our fundraisers consisted of a summer car wash, after Mass bake sales, cookie dough/pie/snack sales, a Paint and Sip Night, A Walk through Portugal Art Show, and Bingo nights. At first, this was a little intimidating but we held onto hope that we serve a faithful God who ALWAYS provides for us. And sure enough, He did- big time. Looking back at this year, we are so overwhelmed with gratitude for the generous prayers and donations we received from everyone who joined our pilgrimage journey and supported us along the way. 


From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU. Please continue to pray for us as we will be praying for all of you. Each day, one of our pilgrims will write a blog updating all of you with what we have been up to for that day. Please read them! We would love for you to continue journeying with us in this way.



May God’s Grace Abound, 

All Saints WYD Pilgrims

Comments

  1. Klarich FamilyJuly 25, 2023 at 9:03 PM

    We are living vicariously through you and are very excited. We said are Rosary for you tonight.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 11 of World Youth Day 8-4-23

  BOM DIA!   As I begin my day with four espressos and two cough drops, I find our group flag and make my way to the lobby. It is always noisy and full of so much life; what a beautiful foreshadowing of events. Our group makes its way by subway to the beach. Not the kind you swim in tho, but just as majestic. We learn about their culture and Portugal’s spirit of Adventure. I can’t help be feel like I am right where I am suppose to be. The City of Joy lived up to its name, especially when the THEE PAPA FRANCISCO decided to stop by to listen to some confessions. Never have I wanted to have sin in my life, as an excuse to meet the Pope. On the outskirts of the area is an ocean of confessionals and priest scattered across the field. I pondered on how many volunteers it took to make this whole thing happen, and marveled over the joy of their sacrifices. Adjacent to that was the biggest ministry and vocations fair I’d ever seen. Possibilities in Christ everywhere, and the perfect dr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 1 of World Youth Day Pilgrimage 7-25-23

                        Happy Feast Day of St. James ,  and welcome to  D ay  1  of our World Youth Day Blog. Today we began our pilgrimage to Portugal with Mass. The fact that we are celebrating St. James seems appropriate. He is the patron saint of pilgrims and the Santiago de Compostela, the pilgrimage named after him, has been traveled for well over 1,000 years. Going on a pilgrimage is a very ancient tradition and not just in our Catholic faith. There is something  deep  within our human hearts, that desires to make a journey when a spiritual need arises. In the early years after Christ’s death and resurrection, the first pilgrims would  consistently  travel to thre e locations. The site of Jesus Christ’s birth, the location of his crucifixion and the tomb where he was resurrected. Because the first Christians immediately began visiting these sites, we have no doubt that they ar...
Post a Comment
Read more