"We are!"

"Where's the church?"

"Right here!"

"And?"

"Everywhere!"

The "youth animator" at the centre for English-speaking pilgrims in Rio de Janeiro was revving up the crowd of young adults, no small feat considering it was 9 o'clock in the morning.

It was the Friday of World Youth Day, and attendees had flooded city buses, streets, and cafes with WYD-related backpacks, clothing, and the all-important dangling ID lanyards. Pope Francis had his hero's welcome the night before on Copacabana Beach and less than 12 hours later the pilgrims were back for another round of morning catechesis, this time with Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, archbishop of Boston.

This kind of morning wake-up call had been common throughout WYD. Middle-aged Christian rock musicians coaxed the young audience to stand up, sing, dance, hug each other, and shout praise to the Lord.

"Let's make some noise!"

It seemed to have its effect. The target audience enjoyed it. During the slower tunes—which bordered on love songs in tone but emphasised communion with Christ—some of the young women would sway with eyes closed; they knew every word.

The animator hastily read an academic-sounding introduction for Cardinal O'Malley while the crowd, having grown used to this format over the previous three days, chatted while shifting for comfortable sitting positions—the cardinal's background and accomplishments didn't seem too important.

But, as if on cue, all applauded, most stood, and Cardinal O'Malley had the attention of 5,000 pilgrims from around the world.

Cardinal O'Malley's catechesis, on "mission," aimed at connecting the New Evangelisation to the mission of all believers.

It was an overwhelming, strong talk, and his plea to "avoid the trap of the hookup culture" received respectable applause.

But for all of its insight and courageous urging to keep the faith amid a culture that doesn't understand the moral foundations of the Church, I had the impression his talk did not have its desired effect on its audience.

Before long, heads started dropping and eyelids started drooping. An audience distracted by its surroundings and coming down from the caffeinated enthusiasm of the animator seemed mostly inattentive to what O'Malley was saying.

It certainly was not the cardinal's fault—the same thing had happened during Cardinal Timothy Dolan's catechesis two days earlier.

But this episode epitomised, for me, the WYD conundrum. There may have been three million on Copacabana Beach for the closing Mass, but how many were engaged, actively participating? Continue reading

As the press centre fills, the first reports filter out of the Pope's remarks to journalists accompanying him on the plane. The familiar Alitalia A330 touches down on the airport tarmac flying the Vatican and local flags from its cockpit; state officials and bishops form a welcoming committee; the Pope emerges, is greeted, is whisked away in a limousine to the city centre, where he climbs into the "popemobile" for a tour of streets lined with well-wishers. Then comes the welcoming ceremony in which the president or prime minister addresses him, and he gives a speech in response.

Soon after the press centre fills with Italian voices and veteran journalists as the dozens of VAMPS - journalists working for the major agencies, permanently accredited to the Holy See Press Office, who sit at the back of the papal plane - arrive. Father Frederico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, breaks away from the papal entourage to give a briefing to the press corps that helps shape the first stories.

True to form, all of this happened yesterday. Yet Pope Francis's arrival in Rio de Janeiro - just before that of the royal baby - managed to be strikingly different from what we have been used to in papal trips. Once he was in the air - after carrying his own bag onto the plane - he rejected the usual interview with pre-prepared questions in order to meet the reporters one by one, asking them about their families, getting to know them and telling them, jokingly, that journalists are not the saints he is most devoted to. In a flight in which he remained permanently active - "this pope has an extraordinary energy," Father Lombardi remarked - he also visited the cockpit for 15 minutes to chat with the pilots shortly before landing.

But he still gave journalists their story, making some important criticisms of a throwaway culture in which the jobless young are set aside. "The world crisis is not treating young people well," the Pope said. "We are running the risk of having a generation that does not work. From work comes a person's dignity." Continue reading

Sources

• Austen Ivereigh in ABC Religion and Ethics
• Image: BBC

Austen Ivereigh is a Catholic journalist and the co-ordinator of Catholic Voices.

"Rio awaits you with open arms," organizers said as they urge young people to come to Brazil, participate in the event and show the strength of young people around the world.

The only place to register for the 2013, July 23-28 summer event is online at the WYD2013 website.

Pope Benedict XVI is expected to attend.

"The registration page is the entryway into WYD Rio 2013. All pilgrims who come to the event must first register, and from there WYD welcomes them all," said director of registration Sister Shaiane Machado.

She also said group registrations should be for a maximum of 50 young people. Groups larger than 50 should be divided up, Sr Machado added, noting that the process will be explained in detail on the section of the site created for group registrations.

Sources

• WYD 2013
• CNA
• Image: WYD 2013

The next WYD will be held earlier than normal, leaving two years for preparations. This is due to Rio hosting the football World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games two years later.

"Even now, let us ask the Lord to assist all those who will organise it and to ease the journey there of young people from all over the world, so that they will be able to join me in that beautiful city of Brazil," the Pope said.

The 2011 Madrid event clearly left a strong impact on Benedict. At his audience at Castel Gandolfo, the Pope Benedict called WYD 2011 "a precious event".

They were "extraordinary days," and it was "a very moving church event," the pontiff said.

"I thank God for this precious gift, which gives hope for the future of the church."

Sources

• Vatican Radio
• CNS
• Image: Diocese of Westminster