More pictures from World Youth Day, Rio!

 Pilgrims dancing in the rain in Rio July 24

Crowds took over the streets of Rio during the week of World Youth Day.

Pilgrims gather before Pope Francis' opening address at World Youth Day

This sand sculpture greeted pilgrims at an entrance to Copacabana

A view near Sugarloaf Mountain on our walk to Copacabana for the Vigil Mass

Pilgrims from St. Dorothea Parish, Eatontown, after Mass with the Pope July 27. From left are Justin Odon, Mahal Wilson, Regene (Seven) Odon, and Malcolm Wilson.

Millions of pilgrims gather for the Vigil Mass on the final day of World Youth Day.

A group of pilgrims from New Jersey gather in Miami Airport July 29 to reflect on Pope Francis' homily the day before. 

Millions of pilgrim walk to the Vigil Mass at Copacabana July 27

Pilgrims walk past Sugarloaf Mountain on their way to the Vigil Mass.

Pictures from World Youth Day 2013

 View from atop our hotel, Rio's Presidente, in Centro right by St. Sebastian Cathedral

A Mass in St. Sebastian Cathedral with the bishops of Argentina July 22

 St. Sebastian Cathedral lit up at night

 The crowds at the Stations of the Cross with Pope Francis July 26

 Jacob & Matthew performing at the English speaking catechesis in Vivo Rio

 Brazilian farfofo, one of many authentic Brazilian dishes we enjoyed.

The crowds at the opening address of World Youth Day by Pope Francis at Copacabana

 Me at Copacabana waiting for Pope Francis

 Another day of catechesis in Vivo Rio before the Stations of the Cross July 26

 The crowds at Copacabana during the overnight Vigil with the Pope

 Me at Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado

 The view from Corcovado on a cloudy day

Christ the Redeemer statue (I just couldn't get the whole thing)

Finding God on the streets of Rio

Every story has its climax, a point where the main character has to make a critical decision that will tremendously affect the rest of the events in the narrative. For this story on my experiences during World Youth Day, Rio, the climax didn’t occur at any of the major events I attended – like Pope Francis’ opening address, or the Stations of the Cross on the beach at Copacabana, and it won’t be the quickly approaching Vigil Mass that serves as the climax for so many pilgrims – because my turning point came in a much more unexpected, perhaps even controversial, manner on the night of July 25. 

On July 24, I got separated from the New Jersey group and wound up spending most of the day with a group from New York City. On July 25, I set my alarm an hour too late and missed the New Jersey group again as they headed for Copacabana for the Pope’s opening address for World Youth Day. I then tried to tag along with the group from Lafayette Diocese, but got stuck at the subway turn stall and lost track of them. So I headed to Copacabana alone, trying to make the best of the situation. I haggled with a beach vender to get him to sell me a beach umbrella and chair for $20 since I was all out of reals. Then I grabbed a spot considerably close to the stage as the crowd of well over a million grew all around me. I was surrounded by people, people who even shared my faith, but felt utterly alone because I knew none of them and didn’t speak their language. Then it started to rain, and I discovered holes in my umbrella.

As I sat there getting wet, questions began to rise within me, like ‘Why did I bother to come to World Youth Day? It has already been more of a hassle than anything else,’ and ‘What’s the big deal about seeing the Pope? Aren’t parts of this global event a bit overdone?’

I abandoned my coveted spot and even entertained the thought of leaving the opening ceremony all together, but as I was walking out the flags of U.S. pilgrims kind of tugged at my soul. I couldn’t leave without talking to them and making some connections. So that’s what I did for the entire afternoon while waiting for Pope Francis to arrive. As the sun went down and the Pope drove past the massive crowd on the avenue and beach, I was in the middle of the fray again, but barely hanging on. I wanted to leave. When the Pope’s address began in Spanish and no translation to English was offered, I did leave. It was a controversial thing for any pilgrim to do, considering the fact that we were there to see and listen to the Pontiff. Here I am at my first World Youth Day, and the first chance I get to hear the Pope speak, I leave before the talk even begins.

I got very lost on the way back to the hotel. This may have been Christ’s punishment for me for walking out on his vicar, but I cannot be sure. All I know is that I was tired, alone, wet and after at least an hour of being lost, I began to worry.  Fumbling in my pockets for a rosary, I found one of the red, white and blue ones made by a group of women from Holy Innocents Parish, Neptune. They gave the rosaries to a few WYD pilgrims from New Jersey, with the request that we distribute them to the pilgrims we meet in Rio.

Being lost in a foreign city can ignite the flame of faith, especially when there’s nothing you can do but pray to God that he leads you in the right direction. After praying the Rosary by myself on some quiet backstreets, I came across a taxi driver who was taking a cigarette break. I asked him if he knew how to get to Rio’s Presidente Hotel on Rua Pedro I. He understood the location but couldn’t explain to me how to get there in English, so he offered to drive me to the hotel… for free. At first I was reluctant, thinking I really shouldn't get in the car of a stranger, but at that point I didn't have much of a choice. I figured, if he drives me to some abandoned warehouse to interrogate and torture me, at least I can say I suffered in the name of Christ.

The taxi driver wound up being a Godsend and led me right to the plaza near our hotel. I was at a tipping point in my faith that night, but getting lost in Rio made me think of the one thing that has saved me in similar desperate situations in the past. My confidence in prayer was restored as this magnanimous taxi driver pulled over to the curb right by our hotel. As I walked back I kissed that rosary and offered a tearful laugh to heaven. World Youth Day, Rio, once again, strengthened my faith in an unexpected way. All these unconventional experiences of faith on the old streets of Rio are God’s way of showing me that there is no escaping his love. 

The many ways to experience WYD, Rio

If you’re expecting a standard account of World Youth Day, with all the interesting facts and significant events that journalists report, you might be disappointed after reading this blog. All of the professional reports are important to an extent; but if you want to know what it's like to be a pilgrim completely immersed in the fray of World Youth Day, this blog is for you. Whenever I try to plan some neatly packed itinerary for the day, some mishap or absentmindedness of mine rearranges my plans drastically. All is well though, because God works through my absentmindedness as well.

It’s certainly worthwhile to experience God’s presence through the communion of millions of other pilgrims, but I believe part of the World Youth Day experience involves casting into the deep by venturing off the beaten path. It's there that you find God in conversations with local residents, or in just observing the every day lives of Rio de Janeirans.

Two nights ago, after we celebrated Mass on the hotel rooftop, my roommate and I decided to really take in what Rio has to offer. So we ate at a truly Brazilian local restaurant. I had Brazilian farfofa, which is a flour-based dish with eggs, ham, and olives mixed in. Then we went to a salsa dance club, keeping in mind that God wants us to live life to the fullest and that includes having fun. And of course, saying I've gone salsa dancing in Rio is another phenomenal conversation starter.

The drawback was I slept late the next day, and missed the New Jersey group as they headed off to catechesis with Cardinal Timothy Dolan at Vivo Rio concert hall. All is well though, because I did manage to hitch onto the New York group that’s also staying at our hotel, and we had our morning catechesis at the beautiful Our Lady of Candelaria Church. 

Bishop Lawrence Subrata Howlander of Bangladesh led the catechesis, with music by Jesse Manibusan. The Mass was also phenomenal. English speaking priests from around the world concelebrated with Bishop Lawrence.

So far I’ve met pilgrims from Australia, Argentina, Cameroon, Dubai, Hungary, Quebec, Taiwan, and of course the U.S. and Brazil. The main concentration of U.S. pilgrims came when I went to the USA Gathering at Vivo Rio last night.

Testimonies and praise and worship led by Jacob & Matthew, as well as Diane Rose, led up to the main event there, which was Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Bishop Edward Burns of Juneau, Alaska, gave a talk during the Exposition and told us how Venerable Pope John Paul II blessed one monstrance for North America, giving it to the North American bishops and instructing them to use it to pray for vocations. Bishop Burns then told us that specially blessed monstrance was the one within which the Blessed Sacrament was being adored that very night, right there with us in the Vivo Rio.

That time of adoration with fellow American pilgrims, who traveled so far to be part of World Youth Day, was one of those memories that becomes engraved in the soul. It would have been an ideal closing for the day, but our night did not end there. After the USA gathering someone, I don't know who, treated us to dinner at a place called Santo Scenarium. What I love about pilgrimages is the magnanimity of the people like whoever it was that bought us dinner. What I love about the restaurants in Rio are their juices, and the pineapple juice I had last night is worth mentioning. Every restaurant in Rio offers a wide variety of juices; I suppose this is due to the fact that the country owns the Amazon Rain Forest, thereby giving it access to an abundance of fresh fruit. I've grown especially fond of their acai juice.

As wonderful as Rio is in regards to juice drinks, their Internet access, at least in the hotels, is not so great. So even though I'd like to add more to this post I have to end it before the hotel's wifi automatically logs me off again.