World Youth Day is a time for youth and young adults to recommit themselves to follow Jesus and to share the Good News of His love and life. Felician Sisters and students from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart have had the blessings of being represented at six phenomenal, amazing, and inspirational World Youth Days - in Denver, Manila, Paris, Rome, Toronto and Cologne. Students have made the pilgrimage to every World Youth Day since Denver. Listen to the hearts of some who were at World Youth Day in Cologne.

Reflections on World Youth Day 2005

"As a group leader, one of the greatest aspects of World Youth Day is seeing the youth grow emotionally and spiritually. I myself have grown spiritually. It is absolutely amazing to see so many gathered together for the same reason: to experience, explore and spread the good news of the Gospel. All of us came to appreciate our faith more." - Mike Cerchiaro

"It was such an amazing experience! I feel that the spiritual refreshment that we all gained as a group and individually can be described as nothing but the Holy Spirit within us coming out and sharing it with everybody else. It was just such a phenomenal experience. The physical labor was challenging but the spiritual gains outweighed any physical tasks we had to undertake. Seeing the Pope was so wonderful. O my goodness – it was cool. It was so neat! Also seeing all the people form different countries gave us a cultural awakening as well." - Erin Donoghue (age 16)

"I wanted to go to Cologne because my first World Youth Day in Toronto was so much fun and a good experience. I did not see the Pope but I did not expect to see the Pope with a million people present. Seeing people from all over the world who believe the same thing was a re-inforcement for my own faith. I enjoyed the first day of catechesis when an American Cardinal from Washington, D.C spoke to us. He was a great speaker and explained what it meant to be on a pilgrimage. I have exchanged emails with students from Poland and France. It is comforting to know how many people are out there with you and with the same faith." - Elizabeth Jarocki (age 17)

"World Youth Day opened my eyes to really see the world and how much faith there is in that world. It was “cool” to see everyone come together as one and put aside political differences. I felt a presence in the catechesis and in everyone there. Being there made me feel good about myself and about my faith." - Adam Scheletsky (age 18)

"A significant experience was seeing so many people be totally silent when the Pope began to speak. It is hard to explain the feeling being at World Youth Day. It was so easy to talk to someone. Everything was so different and yet everyone is the same. World Youth Day was life-changing and, unbelievable. Brian Kyper (age 16) and I were able to get so close to the Pope – only a football field away. It was amazing!!" - Louie Trapizona (age 15)

If you want to share your experience of World Youth Day 2005 with us, please contact vocations@felicianspa.org.

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