Pope Francis Arrives in Rio

I woke up this morning on a plane with an aching back and stiff neck after an overnight flight from Miami to Rio. Little did I know then that later in the day I would see Pope Francis drive past me not more than 10 feet away.

After settling in, some friends and I took a short walk to the Presbyterian Cathedral of Rio, just down the block from where we’re staying at Rio’s Presidente Hotel. It was a beautiful neo-gothic cathedral in itself, but it wasn’t long before something else caught our eye. Throughout the day we saw small groups of pilgrims walking past our hotel. We thought nothing of it, figuring it’s about the right time to start seeing fellow pilgrims all around the city. But the crowds of them walking past us grew larger and larger, and by the time we were at the Presbyterian Cathedral they couldn’t be ignored. So we followed, and they let us to the Catholic Cathedral of St. Sebastian. The streets and overpasses all around us were lined with people waiting for the pope to drive by. We quickly found a spot, and as Pope Francis came by in the Popemobile, I knew that I can now officially say that World Youth Day had begun, even though the official ceremonies don’t start until tomorrow night.

Video of Pope Francis passing: 

http://youtu.be/XS98pIfSVtQ

World Youth Day hasn’t even officially started yet, and the pope already decided to make a surprise visit to the center of Rio and drive past the iconic, pyramid-shaped cathedral. This follows the theme of his visit; he wants to be seen as a commoner who doesn't have to announce to the world everywhere is going, he wants to be one with the people, even one with the poor.  For us, the blessing of finding him was the result of our curious, rambling spirits that just wanted to explore a little. Sure, we heard a bit earlier that the pope was coming to the city today, but we didn’t know when or where. Throughout the day, we were saying, ‘Let’s go find the pope’, but only with the slightest hope that we actually would find him and get as close as we did.

After that memorable encounter, we went to the cathedral and heard rumors that he was stopping there as well. Even though he didn’t come, we did partake in a magnificent Mass with Argentine bishops and about 20,000 other pilgrims. The three of us were immersed in Hispanic culture, and loved it. The music, community, and joy all around us was contagious. It all showed how in every culture, Catholicism  is a little different, yet it always retains this universal similarity with the Catholicism in other cultures.


So went the first day of World Youth Day, Rio. It feels like it has already begun, but in reality tomorrow is when the adventure officially will begin.

What's the big deal about World Youth Day?

I have noticed that many people do not know about World Youth Day. I mean they never even heard of it.  When I mention I'm going, they look at me curiously as if I'm talking about some sort of regional high school pep rally that wouldn't garner the interest of a local newspaper. Perhaps they take the word "World" in the title lightly, like "the world's largest corn palace" that only fascinates  people who are interested in buildings made of strange materials, or in all the wonderful things you can do with corn.

No, there's nothing corny about World Youth Day; and it may be the fruit of an abundant harvest, but it's a harvest of a completely different kind.   When they say 160 countries will be represented, they don't mean just a handful from each one. They mean hundreds and thousands from many of them. It is the largest gathering in the world, period.  Nothing even comes close. They can't even estimate the number that may show up at the Vigil Mass with the Pope on the final day. Since the election of Pope Francis, they say many from his home country of  Argentina are signing up last minute. In fact, the Argentine Pope is a source of pride for all Hispanics in a way, so I won't be surprised if his election inspired more people from all around Latin America to come.

So this is my first WYD, first time going to Brazil, and I'm going to see the first Pope from the New World and the Southern Hemisphere. The things I've already heard of this champion of the poor have inspired me. I heard he encouraged all priests and religious sisters with luxury cars to sell the cars, buy something more modest, and give the rest of the money to the poor; and he invited the poor to dine with him in The Vatican. He'll visit the slums of Rio, and won't use the Popemobile there.

Apparently, Pope Francis rightly sees WYD as the perfect opportunity to exemplify Catholic Social Teaching, because the great event has gained such communal power. The message of charity that politicians and celebrities try to convey on similar big stages will be put in action when Pope Francis comes to Rio de Janeiro.

I find the roots of this colossal event 28 years ago to be quite ironic. Pope John Paul II called the first WYD in 1985 in solidarity with the United Nation's declaration of an International Youth Year. So, in an age when people are saying religion is becoming less and less relevant, and when they're saying the Church no longer has the communal power it once had to unite nations, the United Nations declares a year for the youth and the Catholic Church runs with the idea, bringing together more young people than the U.N. ever could even if it hosted an event with every rock star and global leader in the world. Back in 1985, it was as if Mother Church was saying, "You want to unite the new generation and give people hope, United Nations? Let me show you how it's done."

Tomorrow we will take off from Newark Liberty International Airport for a day of air travel to Rio, to continue the legacy that began in Pope John Paul II's historic pontificate. All the preparations have been made. The wait is over. Tomorrow it begins... well, kind of. 

What to expect of Rio, what should Rio expect of us?

What comes to mind when I think Rio? There’s the Christ the Redeemer statue, the laid back beaches hugged by mountains and high rises, and the controversial shanty towns in the foothills. There’s the recent riots against bus fares, the 6.3 million citizens, and Portuguese (which I told myself months ago to learn, but still haven’t).  Then there’s the FIFA World Cup next year and the Summer Olympics of 2016.

With the exception of Mexico, I’ve never been to another country where English wasn’t a common language.  In fact, with the exception of Mexico, Canada and Ireland, I’ve never been to another country, period. Ironically, with the exception of Canada, I’ve never been to another country for anything other than missionary purposes– unless you count that one time I crossed over to Nogales just to get a real Mexican poncho, or the time I accidentally took the San Diego rail line into Tijuana. The trip to Ireland was with my college rugby team, but even then my team, the Franciscan University Barons, saw sports as an opportunity to evangelize the teams we played and their fans.

Remembering that mission to evangelize adds to the adventure of this journey to Rio. It is a strange way to be a missionary though, I must admit. Usually you think of missionaries serving in hospitals, feeding the poor, or building new homes for the homeless in ‘mission territory’ where there really aren’t many other Christians. But we’ll be attending concerts, drama skits and inspirational speeches with about 2 million other Catholics in a city that is at least half Catholic and at least three quarters Christian. Yes, we will be about 2 million strong, and we still won’t outnumber the local Catholic population of Rio.

The media is expecting World Youth Day to boost the economy of the city. That’s really the core element of missionary power here…  our presence, the sheer magnitude, the communal power, of so many young Catholics being there. Even if you are Christian, it is possible to be re-evangelized by such an extraordinary witness. And that’s what WYD really is: so out of the ordinary. Even the cultural Catholic could be pleasantly surprised and inspired by this eccentric representation of the Church. We see an aging congregation at Mass on Sunday, the lack of young faces among the clergy, and we walk up to the locked churches all around the country, and we think the Catholic Church’s future is dismal.

Then we see the missionaries of World Youth Day. Many of the events in Rio from July 23 to 28 will be entertaining in nature because this is a truly joyful generation of Christians. They bring not only hope but life. Many Catholics are discouraged by the lack of religious vocations in my generation, but let’s get to the real issue here. My generation has been disconnected from the rich Catholic culture that our elders knew so well. We need to rebuild first. We need to raise true Catholic families before we can get a good influx of religious vocations, because the vocations will come from those families  -- and the families will come from those inspired by John Paul the Great’s great idea, World Youth Day.  

The WYD pilgrims have been commissioned

Last night it began.

Well, if you can call a sending forth blessing from Bishop da Cunha of Newark Archdiocese a beginning, then it's fair enough to say it began. Then again, if that counts as a beginning, so can the moment I officially decided to go to Rio for World Youth Day seven months ago, and so can the moment I made the first deposit in my savings account for the pilgrimage, or when I finally paid the full $4,000, or when we started actually hosting fundraisers for the trip, or when I finally received my visa; and so can the few solidifying events that still remain like driving to the airport July 21, landing in Rio the next morning, and then starting to see the other pilgrims from around the world who will be incredulous at the same time as I because they'll realize they've finally arrived.

It's hard to find a true beginning really, because so much has already gone into this event, so many demands tug at us for attention, so many go-aheads, wait-a-seconds, 'do you have this and that's, 'did you do that and this'es, all pushing to be top priorities, that the true beginning, the true moment when I CAN REALLY SAY THAT I'M GOING TO WORLD YOUTH DAY never seems to really, actually, technically, literally arrive.

A bishop's blessing can be pretty convincing, though. So can driving an hour and a half up to Newark to get the blessing, come to think of it. That little adventure, in my beat-up Buick, with a phone GPS losing power, made me notice that even the smaller journeys in our every day lives can be seen as pilgrimages. Zigzagging through Newark, I certainly offered up my share of prayers while hoping that I make the right turn to get to the archdiocesan retreat center in Kearny. I'm still not exactly sure where it is.

We all make sacrifices. Every blessing comes with its sacrifices, including this chance to go to WYD. My sacrifice is an emptied bank account. Even though most of the trip has been paid for by others, this pilgrimage has already left me broke; and it hasn't even started yet. Nonetheless, just like our guide from Regina Tours told us last night, "No one has ever gone to World Youth Day and said I wish I hadn't spent all my savings to go."

Burning with anticipation, I can only hope that she's right.