VATICAN, Aug. 21 (CWNews.com) - The largest single gathering of the Jubilee Year concluded on Sunday, August 20, when Pope John Paul II told a group of 2 million World Youth Day participants-- whom he described as «my joy and my crown»-- to bring the message of the Gospel into the 21st century.
Organizers of the event had expected 1.2 young pilgrims to come to Rome for World Youth Day, but their actual figures exceeded their expectations, and their estimates were steadily revised upward until on the concluding weekend 2 million young people converged on Tor Vergata, an open-air site on the outskirts of Rome.
The young pilgrims, characterized by the media as «the Pope's children,» endured crowds, heat, long lines, and cramped accommodations in order to join the Holy Father for the World Youth Day celebration. Thousands of youngsters slept under the stars in the fields outside Rome; thousands more stayed awake through the night of the final weekend. (The Pope joked sympathetically about the many youngsters who had served as «watchers for the dawn.») Although there were about 1,000 people were treated for minor physical ailments-- mostly related to heat-- the largest gathering in the history of the Eternal City otherwise passed without any incident.
Some shopkeepers in Rome complained that the huge influx of World Youth Day participants had not been particularly good for their trade; these young visitors were not spending money as freely as ordinary tourists. But the Vatican had consistently warned that these were not ordinary tourists. They were pilgrims: young men and women motivated by a desire for conversion rather than consumption.
Ordinarily Rome is a quiet city during the month of August, but this year's plans for World Youth Day required special planning by the city and the Italian government as well as the Holy See. On August 19, as the pilgrim army descended on Tor Vergata, Cardinal Camillo Ruini offered thanks, on behalf of the Vatican and the Rome diocese, for the cooperation of government authorities. Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi responded with a statement that «Rome is happy to have been conquered» by the young pilgrims.
Cardinal Ruini had led an estimated 400,000 young people in the Way of the Cross on Friday evening, ending the dramatic observance in the Coliseum by recalling the suffering of Christians in recent years-- in Rwanda, Palestine, El Salvador, and Indonesia-- at the site where Christians were once put to death by the Roman regime.
By Saturday evening, most of the 2 million pilgrims had made their way to Tor Vergata-- many having walked several miles from the closest available transportation. The scorching summer heat was finally easing in the early evening when Pope John Paul II arrived, carried by helicopter from his summer residence at Castel Gandalfo. Greeted by thunderous applause, the Pontiff rode through the site on his Popemobile before finally coming to the stage.
The evening's program included dances, songs, and the testimony of young people from countries that have been scarred by violence in recent years. When he finally addressed the crowd, the Pope took up the theme of suffering and witness.
The faith, John Paul II said, «demands of us-- as it did in the past-- that we take our stand for Jesus Christ, even sometimes to the point of martyrdom.» He added that martyrdom can take many forms, and in most cases «you will not have to shed your blood, but you will certainly be asked to be faithful.»
Against that solemn backdrop, the 2 million young pilgrims concluded the evening's events with a solemn profession of faith.
On Sunday morning, the World Youth Day celebration reached its conclusion with a solemn Mass at Tor Vergata. About 6,000 priests, including over 500 bishops, concelebrated with the Holy Father.
In his homily, the Pope urged the young people to recognize the person of Jesus Christ as the ground of their faith, and so to center their lives on the Eucharist. He encouraged them to be generous in bearing witness to Christ. «Our society has an immense need for that witness,» he observed. And he pointed out their responsibility to the Church, «You will bring the message of Christ to the new millennium.»
As the celebration concluded, Pope John Paul announced that the new observance of World Youth Day will take place in Toronto in 2002. After wishing the pilgrims a safe trip home, the Holy Father announced that he was not saying «Goodbye,» but hoped to seem them again in Toronto.
Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update