Diocesan Group Celebrates World Youth Day Trip
Twelve young adults have returned to the Diocese of Evansville with a lifetime of memories from an amazing trip – their pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro.
“The experience of WYD, particularly the experience of being in the presence of the Holy Father, has been one of sheer joy and excitement!” said Father Christopher Droste, associate pastor of Evansville’s Christ the King and Holy Spirit parishes. “Beyond the appearances of any show or spectacle, WYD proposes Christianity as an event to be followed in search of the one who makes everything possible, even life itself – Jesus Christ. The possibility for encountering the life of faith in this context has been wonderful and will hopefully open people's lives – our lives – to make more room for Him, so that the life of this event be made more present in us.”
Father Droste joined 11 others on the trip: Megan Baehl, Sherie Cooley, Megan Durcholz, Dena Embrey , Kyle Freyberger, Jenae Gries, Luke Hassler, Andy Hirsch, Emily McAtee, Gavin Steckler and Tyler Tenbarge.
“Christ is alive in His Church,” Tenbarge, a second-year theology seminarian at St. Meinrad, said in an email from Rio during the event. “I’ve seen him.
“Here in Rio, I have seen Christ alive in millions of Christian disciples gathered for prayer; in the freedom with which bishops proclaim the Gospel and their own encounter with Christ; and in the successor of St. Peter – who used the same words Peter spoke to Jesus 2,000 years ago, ‘It is good for us to be here’ – as his first words to all of us pilgrims gathered on the shore of the sea.”
The group also saw Pope Francis – up close and personal – in the late afternoon on July 25. They managed to find their way near the barricade separating literally millions of young Catholics from the travel route of the popemobile, which stopped just a few feet from them as the Holy Father arrived at Copacabana beach to welcome young people from around the world.
“(Pope Francis’ arrival) was one of the most exciting days of my entire life,” said Gries, a 2013 graduate of Mater Dei High School in Evansville who will begin her freshman year at the University of Southern Indiana in a few weeks. “As we stood along the path where the pope would be passing, a sweet elderly lady from Rio grabbed my hand and led me to the front of the crowd in order for me to stand next to her … so I could be as close to Pope Francis as possible. It was so amazing as the pope rode by, stopped in front of us, kissed a baby, and waved to us. I was speechless and brought to tears.”
“Seeing the Pope on Thursday was unreal,” said McAtee, also a 2013 Mater Dei graduate. “The joy I felt was indescribable, and I wish that everyone could get the chance to experience the same amazing feeling that I was able to feel when I saw the Pope drive down the road and stop of few feet in front of us.
“I couldn't be (happier) to have gotten the opportunity to come on this trip and have experiences that will last me a lifetime!” she added. “We all couldn't be more grateful for the supporters who helped made this trip possible. We couldn't have done it without them.”
“The entire trip (was) a new experience for me,” said Stecker, who attended Marian University last year and is working this summer on his family’s farm. “I've never flown before, and I have never been out of the United States. Besides the pope, the most exciting thing for me has been to see people from other countries and find some of the differences/similarities between them and us.
“The most awesome thing about the pope is the look of pure love that shines from his face,” he added. “You can see it shine from his inmost self. He loves purely and totally all those that he serves as pope.”
“The experience that has blown my mind away is that I see how much of a presence there is of a true Body of Christ at this place!” Freyberger said from Rio. He will be attending Marian University this fall.
“Even though there are people from all over the world who can’t understand each other, everyone is still waving and saying hello and smiling at one another! It is such a beautiful thing! There is a true sense of joy that I've felt because I have this true feeling of a united, Catholic Church!”
“My favorite part of the trip has been relating to the locals through their two favorite things – the Church and soccer,” said Hirsch, a sociology student at Butler University. “The culture here is diverse and rich, but all of the Brazilians respect football and Catholic culture.”
