Happy to be there

Happy for the hospitality they received in the dioceses, grateful for the sharing of spiritual experiences with their Italian and non-Italian companions and especially struck by the words of Benedict XVI whom the great majority of them had never seen before in close up. That’s how the youth of the European delegations have described to SIR Europe their days in Loreto (29 August – 2 September) during the Italian youth forum (SIR Europe 59/2007). All of them now have the task of sharing their experience with others and bearing witness to the message of Benedict XVI: “With love and conviction – said the Pope – I repeat to you young people present here, and through you, your contemporaries throughout the world: do not be afraid, Christ can satisfy the deepest aspirations of your heart… Each of you, if you remain united with Christ, can achieve great things. That’s why, dear friends, you ought not to fear of dreaming with eyes wide open of great projects for the good, nor let yourselves be discouraged by the difficulties”. MONACO. “They were days of great hospitality. We were given such a warm welcome in truly hospitable families”, write Franck, Emilie, Céline, Simone and Veronica of the delegation from Monaco, guests of the diocese of San Marino. “Our moments of reflection, prayer and discussion with the other youth present remain unforgettable, and how emotional it was to see the Pope in close up, sitting as we were just a few steps from the podium”. One particular memory stands out: “our nocturnal visit to the Holy House of Mary, in an atmosphere of prayer and friendship”. ALBANIA. “It was the first time we were able to leave our country – says Ervin Uldedaj of the diocese of Lezha – and none of us knew any of the others. Our amazement in Italy was great! The impact with a reality so totally different from our own and at the same time so welcoming was tremendous. We were guests of the diocese of Macerata. Many Albanian youth, who have emigrated here, joined us to celebrate. We saw for the first time monuments, churches, universities and theatres that took us back into the world of the Middle Ages. That made a huge impression on us, because in Albania what monuments there were have long been destroyed and the imposition of the Ottoman Empire changed the course of our history. We discovered with astonishment mixed with pride that the Albanians of the 16th century, who had escaped from the Turkish threat, settled in these cities and had become integrated with the local population”. “We shared a good part of our experience with the Croatian delegation; our exchanges with them were lively, and strong friendships were forged. It was wonderful to participate in the mass with the Pope together with the four hundred thousand other youth and to feel ourselves a single family. On returning home, we had a new and shared certainty: we are not alone, we are all citizens of heaven. Our emotion in seeing Benedict XVI in close up, and listening to his words, was indescribable. His teaching will be an important point of reference for us in our life”. HOLLAND. “We are not alone” is the conviction of Susanne van den Berk, head of the Dutch delegation, after Loreto. “Words can’t express those days: the hospitality given to us in the diocese of Chieti moved us deeply; the kindness of the families, the joy with which they welcomed us into their homes, are unforgettable. But especially we’ll take home with us the memory of not being alone. For my delegation, coming from Holland, where there aren’t many Catholic youth, it was very important to see we belong to a universal Church. We were reminded of this by the Bishop of Chieti, Msgr. Forte, and by the Pope: “You are never alone! This gave us new strength to continue with the task of evangelization in our parishes”. LITHUANIA . Loreto as an “occasion to deepen our faith in God”: that’s how Aidas Markauskas of the diocese of Telsiai experienced the Italian youth forum in Loreto. “The words of Benedict XVI – he explains – were not only an encouragement not to be afraid of proclaiming the Christian faith, but gave me a new impetus to take the decision and say ‘yes’ to God. The Word of God has become my daily bread. The hospitality and joy of those days in Italy did the rest”. Rita, she too from Telsiai, also has wonderful memories of Loreto, especially of “the ability of Italian youth to transmit joy and happiness in every situation and on every occasion”. Roberta, from the diocese of Panevezys, says she is “strengthened by the courage of the young to bear witness to their faith in Jesus. They inspire me to become a witness of faith in my own environment”. HUNGARY. “We speak different languages but are united by our love for Christ”: a sentence addressed to her by a Sister in the convent of Citerna (Città di Castello) is remembered fondly by Zsuzsanna Polgar from Budapest, when she thinks back about the days she spent in Loreto. The effect was almost like WYD “when I felt younger… in the sense that at Loreto I had a new urge to act, to live a life of deeper feeling, closer to Christ. The Pope’s words said precisely that: you need to be young at heart”. “I saw a lively Church – says another Hungarian girl, Lívia Kovats from Miskolc – I felt the love of Christ by seeing the faces of so many young people”. Particularly moving for the 27 Hungarian youth was the testimony of Father Giancarlo Bossi, the Italian missionary held hostage in the Philippines and only recently released. MALTA. “A fantastic event that enabled us to share experiences with youth who come from different countries, but who share a common wish to love God and bear witness to him to others: youth who have at heart the well-being of others and yearn for a better world”, reminisces Charlene Vassallo, for whom “the meeting with the Pope was the culmination of all. There, in Loreto, I saw that God alone can make so many different cultures meet together in peace”. For Charlene, Loreto had an extension in the Mediterranean youth forum where “all the young delegates were open to new friendships and willing to discuss and meditate on the beatitude: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’. Words cannot describe my emotions in Loreto. All I know is that there is so much love, so much peace in my heart. I have never seen so many young people so united”. ALGERIA. The foreign delegations in Loreto also included one from Algeria, led by Father Théoneste Bazirikana, who recalls the words of a youth, a convert from Islam, in Loreto: “my country has always transmitted the images of a continent, Europe, that was being suffocated under atheism. After the meeting in Loreto, I made the wonderful discovery that this wasn’t so”. “We came home enriched by the words of the Pope and his closeness to the young: ‘for Christ and for his Church there are no outskirts!’. We will bring his paternal embrace to all those we meet. The meeting with Italian youth and with the other foreign delegations brought us closer to the universality of the Church. Her message is a message of peace and salvation for everyone, even for those who do not profess the same faith”.