From a thousand roads of Europe

The meeting of Italian youth, promoted by the Italian Bishops’ Conference, was held at Loreto, from 29 August to 2 September. It included a meeting with Benedict XVI. The some 500,000 pilgrims present also included 800 young delegates from 50 countries of Europe and of the Mediterranean. Guests, together with their Italian counterparts, of 32 dioceses, they participated in various events that the host dioceses had prepared before they all converged, in pilgrimage, on Loreto, where they took part in the vigil and mass with Benedict XVI on 1 and 2 September. The periodic meeting of Mediterranean youth (Youth Agora) was also held in Loreto. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GOD. “I wish my words to reach out to you all: the Pope is close to you, he shares your joys and your sorrows; he especially shares the most intimate hopes in your spirit, and for each of you he asks the Lord for the gift of a full and happy life, a life rich in meaning, a true life”. That is the message that Benedict XVI addressed to the young during the prayer vigil in the park of Montorso, on the outskirts of Loreto, on 1st September. For one evening, underlined the Holy Father, Loreto has become “the spiritual capital of youth; the centre on which ideally converge the multitudes of youth who populate the five continents”. For the Pope’s words were ideally addressed at the youth of the whole planet: “With love and conviction I repeat to you, young people present here and, through you, your contemporaries throughout the world: Do not be afraid: Christ can fulfil the deepest aspirations of your heart!”. So, “each of you, if you remain united to Christ, can achieve great things. That’s why, dear friends, you ought not to be afraid of dreaming with your eyes wide open of great projects for the good or be discouraged by difficulties. Christ has trust in you and wishes you may be able to realize each of your noblest and highest dreams of genuine happiness. Nothing is impossible for those who trust in God and entrust themselves to Him”. “PART OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH”. The largest of the delegations of European youth was the one from Poland (100 delegates), followed in turn by that from France. Delegations of Spanish, Croatian, Hungarian, Greek, Russian, Portuguese and Slovene youth were also present. The flags of England, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Holland, Austria, Switzerland, Ukraine and Bulgaria were also in evidence, fluttering over the site of the meeting in Loreto. “We wish to feel part of the great universal Church and perceive the style of evangelization that can be experienced here”, said the young Bulgarian priest Father Plamen Gecev. “In Bulgaria the number of youth who find their own happiness in the Church is increasing, overcoming the prejudice that judges attendance at mass in a negative light”. According to Father Gecev, “in listening to the young one perceives a sense of disarray and loss when faced by the great challenges of life. Only in Jesus Christ can the answer be found. And it is this message we wish to transmit once we return home”. It’s an experience “that cannot be explained with words, and that we need to experience in person”, say the five youth of the Turkish delegation. “We have prayed, meditated and celebrated”, explained Alper Alkac, head of the delegation. “In Turkey, a country with an Islamic majority, it’s not easy to live as Christians. In spite of that, young Turkish Catholics do not lack enthusiasm”. The key to dialogue with Muslims, according to Alkac, is “bringing a message of peace, as Jesus teaches us”. CELEBRATION AND PRAYER. Other European youth had similar experiences. The English, Portuguese and Norwegian youth groups, given hospitality in the diocese of Pescara, learnt a hymn composed by local youth “There’s no failure” and donned a t-shirt bearing the slogan “there’s no failure if you’ve got God inside”. Ancona hosted the delegates of Poland, Germany, Montenegro, Romania and Azerbaijan. All of them experienced a moment of meditation in visiting the Jewish cemetery and listening to the prayer of the “Shemà Israel”. At Pesaro Spanish and Polish youth joined with their Italian counterparts and formed a human chain stretching almost two kilometres to symbolically embrace the city. The Serbs, guests of the diocese of Fermo, reflected on issues of the defence of life. At Senigallia, remembering the life of Saint Maria Goretti, English, Spanish, Polish and Lebanese youth reflected on the meaning of purity and produced a “Manifesto on Love” which will be translated and sent to everyone. INVITATION TO SYDNEY 2008. “The same atmosphere as Loreto will also be experienced at World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008”, said Matthew Shakhovskoj and Nathan Chapple, of the Australian delegation, who were also present at the youth meeting to promote WYD in Sydney (15-20 July 2008). Draped in the Australian flag, they declared: “We have invited Italian and European youth to Sydney. We hope to see large numbers of them there. From Loreto we will take home with us the enthusiasm of European youth and the words of the Pope”.