Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Madrid for what is officially the 26th edition of World Youth Day, a total which includes off-year events organized, at least in theory, at the diocesan level. Counting just the massive international gatherings headlined by the pope, Madrid is the 12th World Youth Day since John Paul II launched the Read more
Six young people from Stratford were among the 1.5 million young Catholics attending Sunday’s WYD mass in an aerodrome near Madrid. They were among the 200 or so New Zealander who joined the hundreds of thousands of young people, bearing flags from their countries and wearing hats to protect themselves from the sun, prayed, applauded and Read more
Pope Benedict braved thunder, lightning, strong winds and torrential rain to preside at the 2011 WYD vigil prayer service. “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 Read more
The arrival of Pope Benedict, World Youth Day in Madrid moved up a gear and in Benedict’s words, Madrid has become the capital of the world for youth. 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 Read more
Sr Teresita has spent the last 84 years inside the convent Buenafuente del Sistal in North of Madrid, however the 103 year old nun will leave the cloistered walls on Friday to meet the pope in Madrid. “She said she thinks she will make the trip with her eyes closed, so that nothing will distract Read more
Two year 13 students from Auckland met Pope Benedict XVI at the World Youth Day Papal Welcome Ceremony in Madrid. The ceremony began at 5.30am New Zealand time (18 August at 7.30pm Madrid time). Dominic Light and Vincent Phua, both 18, were chosen to join 48 other young people from around the world to meet with Read more
Hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world gathered in Madrid, Spain for the opening Mass of World Youth Day 2011. “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 Read more
Strikes across Spain coinciding with the Pope’s visit to World Youth Day have been averted after a baggage handling company agreed to reinstate four workers who had been made redundant. It was reported yesterday that unions representing Spanish airport ground crew had called strikes to coincide with Pope Benedict XVI’s four-day visit to the Spanish Read more
