Two teachers from St Philomena’s School have recently returned from the experience of a lifetime where they joined millions of young Catholics from around the globe at World Youth Day (WYD) 2016 in Poland.
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Mary Davison and Lauren Donnelly were two of a group of 60 people from the Armidale, Wollongong, Toowoomba and Cairns dioceses who made the pilgrimage to Poland for WYD.
The group left Australia on July 18 and spent three weeks in Poland during which time they embarked on a pilgrimage where they followed in the footsteps of John Paul II, before heading to Krakow for WYD events. These included an opening mass, three separate catechetical sessions, a welcome address by the Pope, a walking pilgrimage to a vigil site where an evening vigil was held and closing ceremonies.
Ms Davison and Ms Donnelly both said the trip was an “amazing” experience.
Ms Davison said one particular moment that stood out for her was at the evening vigil at camp Misericordiae when the Pope told the crowd of two million people to be still.
“There was absolute silence; it was surreal,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ms Donnelly said the celebrating was the best part.
“There was an overwhelming sense of joy and fun and excitement, everywhere you went people were waving flags and singing songs. It made you feel so happy and very proud to be Catholic.”
