Any event that gathers 1.5 - 2 million young people together to celebrate their faith is a huge success, and whether it be the intense heat, untimely rain and wind or the growth in faith, the atmosphere of the occasion will remain a life-long experience.

The complexity of modern Spain meant World Youth Day 2011 has not been all plain-sailing.

Violent protests, a gay and lesbian kiss-in, a high profile pro-condom lobby and World Youth Day website hackers threatened to take the shine away from the event.

Protests became violent

Violence repeatedly flared throughout the papal visit, as Spanish riot-police swung batons in clashes with anti-Church protesters.

Between 3000-5000 anti-pope protesters marched on the Spanish capital's central Sol Plaza to voice their concerns about the 50 million euro price tag of the four-day trip.

Pilgrims were put under pressure and at times were told to stay away from some of Madrid's popular areas.

"Pilgrims have been asked not to go to Sol for security reasons," Malaysian pilgrim Yap Thomas reported on Twitter.

"Sometimes we were very afraid ...but they did not attack me", Lilly Cozzoleno of Italy told CNS.

Protesters were in the main objecting to the cost of WYD, and chanted "God yes, Church no"; "Not with my taxes"; "We are not the pope's youth" and "I am a sinner, sinner, sinner".

Some protesters even taunted the faithful shouting: "Nazi, nazi."

Baton-wielding anti-riot police were used to disperse the protesters.

Not all one-sided, one protester against the papal visit, who would not give his name, bled from the nose. "I was in the demonstration with my father and one of the Catholics punched me in the face," he said.

The Vatican however rebuffed protesters' claims saying, "The event will not cost anything" for Spain.

"The burden will fall on the church, the pilgrims and private donors," it said.

Kiss-in foiled

On Thursday, more than 100 activists planned to join up along the street where the Pope travelled in his white, bulletproof Popemobile and stage a kiss-in.

Police foiled plans by gays and lesbians, blocking the protesters, forcing them to disperse.

In the end only two men managed to skirt security and kiss for the cameras just as the Pope passed by along the major Madrid artery of Calle Serrano.

Condom use promotion got creative

For the past few years an American-based organisation, Catholics for Choice, have run advertisements on billboards in Madrid subway stations and busses as part of their Condoms4Life programme.

This year the ads have been banned.

In a press release Catholics for Choice president, John O'Brien defended the ads. "As Catholics, we were supporting Pope Benedict's claim that condoms can save lives," he said.

It is unclear why liberal Spanish authorities blocked the ads, but it forced Catholics for Choice to adopt alternative creative strategies such as extensive social media campaigns, badges for pilgrims to wear and night-time projections onto the walls of buildings.

Despite being shut down, Catholics for Choice expressed delight at the success of their campaign.

"We were all over the media - local, national and international - and our projections were beamed around the world," they said in their last blog post on social media platform Tumblr.

Website hacked

Issues have also hampered communication from the World Youth Day's official website.

The website began experiencing problems on August 15 and organisers confirmed the issues were the result of computer hackers, and despite several successful attempts to prevent the site being hacked, the event's technicians were unable to prevent several "Denials of Service attacks" which temporarily, but repeatedly took the site down, hampering officials' communications efforts, particularly with the media.

WYD organisers released a statement saying, "Out of respect for the millions of people who are following us around the world and the 4,900 accredited communication professionals at WYD, we believe it is necessary to inform the public about this hacking attempt."

The organizers said they regret "any distress caused" and confirmed they are working to resolve the issue.

Benedict left Madrid after Mass on Sunday, but not before calling on some of the 30,000 volunteers to thank them for their work.

Sources

• CNA
• Twitter @yapthomas
• The Province
• American Catholic
• Mail Online
• Huffington Post
• France 24

The Vatican acknowledged there will be some indirect costs to the country such as security and traffic control, but it expected the 1.5 million visitors to Spain will generate considerable additional revenue for the economy during their week-long visit.

"The event will not cost anything" for Spain, it said, "The burden will fall on the church, the pilgrims, and private donors," it added, citing Spanish Government Spokesman Jose Blanco.

Meanwhile, the Independent Catholic News has published financial data for World Youth Day 2011, showing the event to be completely self-financed.

"The cost is covered in full by pilgrim registrations (70%) and donations (30%). No contribution has been made towards World Youth Day by the Spanish government or the local councils in Madrid. World Youth Day costs the Spanish tax-payer nothing, while it has been estimated that World Youth Day will contribute in excess of 100 million Euros to the Spanish economy," the report stated.

The Spanish leftist union CGT estimated that the real cost to taxpayers is around 100 million euros and Priests from Madrid's poorest parishes have criticised the cost of Pope Benedict's visit to Madrid for World Youth Day.

Sources

• Independent Catholic News
• Ansa
• Image: The Guardian

Collectively, those gatherings have generated crowds in excess of 15 million people, making World Youth Day the Olympic Games of world religion: the largest regularly held international religious event on the planet.

"World Youth Day" is, of course, one of those charming bits of Catholic vocabulary that endures despite having thoroughly outlived its accuracy.

It was a single day back in 1985, but it's morphed into a week-long jamboree composed of pilgrimage and devotion, catechesis, liturgies and the sacraments, and even Lollapalooza-style pop festivals. (The lineup includes "PriestBand," an all-priest septet associated with the Emmanuel Community, which only performs at World Youth Days.)

"Evangelical Catholicism" is a term being used to capture the Catholic version of a 21st century politics of identity, reflecting the long-term historical transition in the West from Christianity as a culture-shaping majority to Christianity as a subculture, albeit a large and influential one.

I define Evangelical Catholicism in terms of three pillars:

• A strong defence of traditional Catholic identity, meaning attachment to classic markers of Catholic thought (doctrinal orthodoxy) and Catholic practice (liturgical tradition, devotional life, and authority).
• Robust public proclamation of Catholic teaching, with the accent on Catholicism's mission ad extra, transforming the culture in light of the Gospel, rather than ad intra, on internal church reform.
• Faith seen as a matter of personal choice rather than cultural inheritance, which among other things implies that in a highly secular culture, Catholic identity can never be taken for granted. It always has to be proven, defended, and made manifest.

I consciously use the term "Evangelical" to capture all this rather than "conservative," even though I recognise that many people experience what I've just sketched as a conservative impulse. Fundamentally, however, it's about something else: the hunger for identity in a fragmented world.

Historically speaking, Evangelical Catholicism isn't really "conservative," because there's precious little cultural Catholicism these days left to conserve. For the same reason, it's not traditionalist, even though it places a premium upon tradition. If liberals want to dialogue with post-modernity, Evangelicals want to convert it - but neither seeks a return to a status quo ante.

Continue reading John Allen's article on the Big picture at World Youth Day: 'It's the Evangelicals, stupid!'

Leung-Wai, a 25-year-old from Auckland, said, "Having lunch with the Holy Father is something you tell your family and friends and future generations about". When asked why he hesitated to say it was something you tell your grandchildren about, he said he was one of many at World Youth Day considering a vocation to the priesthood or religious life.

Leung-Wai also invited Pope Benedict to New Zealand.

"He was laughing," the young man said.

Martin, a former pupil of De la salle College describes himself on Twitter as a"Recent Architectural Graduate/ Zumba Instructor/Artist and a chilled out guy"

Source

• CNS News
• Image:Yfrog.com

"Be proud of the gift of faith which you have received, as it will illumine your life at every moment," the Pope said to 1.5 million young people at Cuatro Vientos air base on the outskirts of Madrid.

"Let yourselves be seized by God, so that your presence in the Church will give her new life!"

Pope Benedict had barely begun his address when a ferocious lightning storm disrupted the vigil prayer service.

While some pilgrims scrambled for shelter others danced in the rain. The Pope, covered by several papal-white umbrellas, continued his address for a little longer, but in the end a drenched, yet remarkably serene 84 year old Pontiff took refuge, forgoing his prepared text.

"Like an Apocalypse here!" Jo Anne Rowney said via Twitter.

The storm was in complete contrast to earlier in the afternoon when firetrucks weaved their way through the crowd, spraying them with water, cooling them from the searing 40C heat.

The elements settled, a change of clothes for the Holy Father and he returned to the stage.

"I hope you were able to sleep despite the inclement weather," the Pope said.

"We live an adventure together."

"Like tonight, with Christ you can face the trials of life. Do not forget. Thank you," Benedict said.

"Benedict XVI was determined, extremely determined to stay, just as the young stayed. He had not the slightest doubt. The storm was a parable of Christian life in which moments of difficulty are overcome by the strength of faith," Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said.

Despite the hardships of the previous day, the initial heat, then the downpour, hundreds of thousands young people spent the night on the open field at the airport base.

They were up, ready and rowdy when the Pope arrived, and he noticed.

"The vision of that sea of happy souls fills my heart with joy," he said.

In his homily, Benedict said that faith is not about understanding a bunch of facts, rather "it's an ability to grasp the mystery of Christ's person in all it's depth."

The pope urged Sunday's crowd not to hold on to their faith but to share it.

"So do not keep Christ to yourselves. Share with others the joy of your faith," he said.

The storm that interrupted Saturday's prayer vigil also damaged several large tents where the consecrated hosts were being stored for Sunday morning's WYD Mass, reports Vatican Radio.

According to Yago de la Lierva, head of the world Youth Day organising committee, for safety reasons most pilgrims were not able receive Holy Communion at the World Youth Day Mass.

The Pope concluded the celebration of faith by announcing that Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will host the next World Youth Day.

Rio will also host the Summer Olympics in 2016 and Brazil will host the World Soccer Cup in 2014.

Sources

• CNA
• Vatican Radio

Amid the heat of the burning sun, the 1.5 - 2 million pilgrims, the need for water, all didn't seem to matter to Jo Anne Rowney who tweeted her excitement as she was "about to see Papa."

In his address to the youth, the Holy Father told the vibrant youth that it is God who gives wings to our freedom, God's words that feed our being, but when we don't follow Christ and get lost we can always count on God's mercy, particularly in the sacrament of penance.

Pope Benedict told the youth that humanity has been created and is the main protagonist in the search for truth.

He encouraged the pilgrims to use the time to get to know Christ better, to build on solid rock, rock that is stable.

Towards the end of his address, Benedict commended the fruits of the Madrid WYD to Mary. "She teaches like no one else," he said.

Support among the pilgrims is immeasurable, however the Pope's visit is not without contention.

• Eight demonstrators have been arrested and 11 people injured in clashes between riot police and protesters in Madrid opposed to a visit by the Pope. The violence broke out after a march by thousands of people angry that - among other things - taxpayer money is being spent on the four-day visit by Pope Benedict XVI for a festival called World Youth Day.
• Earlier in the day, a young chemistry student working as a volunteer to prepare a visit by the Pope to Madrid was arrested on suspicion of planning a gas attack targeting protesters opposed to the pontiff's stay.
• Throughout the buildup and during WYD, young activists are taking their "Condoms4Life" campaign to the streets of the Madrid, this despite civil authorities some weeks ago barring bus ads and billboards in the city.

Not leaving a moment to chance, on the flight to Madrid, the pope answered several questions put to him by reporters, one of which at least indirectly related to the question of taxpayer money being spent on his visit and WYD when he denounced economic structures that put profits ahead of people.

"The economy cannot be measured by the maximum profit but by the common good," Benedict told journalists.

"The economy cannot function only with mercantile self-regulation but needs an ethical reason in order to work for man," he said.

The Spanish economy is struggling to exit a recession which has left one in five unemployed, of which a large proportion are young people.

Sources

• The West
• The Vatican - Full text of Pope's address
• @madelineteahan
• @joannerowney
• Image: Jo Anne Rowney

"The day that we've been waiting for has arrived, Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, said as he welcomed the crowd.

"These will be days you will never forget."

They are "days of important discoveries and decisions that will be decisive for your future," he said.

Reflecting on the words of St. Paul that form the theme of this year's World Youth Day: "Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith (Col 2:7)," the cardinal acknowledged the challenge of living out this call.

"This is very demanding because it contains a definite life plan for each one of us," he said.

"Faith is like a root that is nourished by the lifeblood of the word of God and the sacraments."

"It is the foundation, the rock on which life is built, the dependable compass that guides our choices and gives clear direction to our lives."

Rylko told the young people that they had come to Madrid to say aloud to the whole world, and in particular to Europe, who is showing signs of being very lost, that faith is possible, that it is a wonderful adventure and it allows people to discover the beauty of their lives.

For hours before Mass, and in searing 40 degree heat, pilgrims lined the streets of Madrid and entertained themselves in the hot sun, dancing, singing, listening to the music blaring out from massive speakers and being entertained with big red WYD beach balls.

The social networks, particular Twitter and Facebook were abuzz with updates, the city was alive with one giant international party.

"It's mad here," says Jo Anne Rowney on Twitter.

"2.5 million pilgrims is just a figure until you actually see them all. Crazy," she said.

"121 hours of eucharistic adoration to kick off after the opening mass in Madrid. It ain't all partying!" said Emer McCarthy.

McCarthy said she met a Malaysian pilgrim who worked for four years to get to Madrid. She described the meeting as "humbling."

The mood in the city is overwhelmingly positive.

"When you come here, you feel at home," said Mpofu, 27 who is not long off the plane from Zimbabwe.

"You don't need to explain yourself. You are who you are. We understand each other."

"It's been an overwhelming experience when you see that everyone shares the same faith, despite color, race and upbringing and culture," said Fungai Mawada, 20.

800 Bishops and around 8,000 priests concelebrated the opening Mass.

Sources

• CNS
• US Catholic
• Image: Catholic Herald