A few reports from young A&B Catholics who were there as it all happened. Firstly, Joe Simon who was with his family and a group from his parish.
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Reflection on the Vigil in Hyde Park
The Weybridge Group (image hotlinked from the Catholic Herald)
The atmosphere was electrifying, the people were beautiful with the faith they were advertising so proudly to the world and the Pope was serene, inspiring and thought-provoking. The day started off with a group of 35 from the town of Weybridge in Surrey; at first everyone was slightly nervous yet by the end strong friendship bonds had been formed. We could not escape the vivifying happiness of the thousands of people around us as we processed our way up to Hyde Park, ambling slowly along.
People from different sides of London were approaching us as if we were long lost friends, all united through the fire that our faith was exuding. When we finally reached the Park and settled down amid the buzzing 80,000 people, I personally felt such pride that I was part of the Catholic Church and a sense of greater being settled down on me. The fantastic performers and the time we had rekindling old friendships immediately set the pace for the day, leaving us relaxed as well as personally and emotionally ready for the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI. Wherever I walked I managed to spot people I knew from retreats I had been on, and people from the Arundel &Brighton Lourdes community. And as the hours crept by and the excitement grew in the crowds, you could only find yourself shouting out the words of “Shine, Jesus, Shine” at the top of your voices while papal flags were flying high, as if we were supporting at a football match. This is a picture of three women from our parish – Linda, Simone and Barbara, my mother, looking so joyful, which for any teenager is their worst nightmare! Then the screaming started and heads turned towards the big screens, trying to catch a glimpse of the icon that we had all been waiting for, and as he appeared with the white, swirling robes it seemed almost unreal that WE were going to see the Pope! This was the moment we had all been waiting for. This was it. As he pulled into Hyde Park and the Vigil started, a penetrating silence overcame the crowds as we so desperately wanted to absorb every word he had to say, to such an extent that my mother ended up on my shoulders to get a better view!
Familiar faces were also sighted on the big screens, such as our newly ordained deacon, Gerard Hatton, receiving the monstrance from the Pope and laying it on the altar. We stood in awe. By the end of the momentous vigil of prayer with its renewal of faith and strength we all cheered for our leader as he retreated back for some well earned rest. The day left me with many emotions: I no longer felt sceptical towards the Pope because of his views. That evening, I saw a fragility and beauty which touched me deeply. My faith felt renewed, which is hard to find for a 15 year old boy, and it is ironic that in a crowd of 80,000 people I managed to find something that was so little and minute in my life and, lastly, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS ALIVE. This is the aspect of the Vigil that struck me the most. Though scarred and challenged, faith is healed up through the common belief that God provides salvation for us all.
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The second reflection is by Catherine Crick, taken from a reflection she gave in a school assemby. Catherine was at Westminster Cathedral, as well as Hyde Park
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The Papal Visit 2010 – Mass at Westminster and Hyde Park Vigil
The A&B group on Sky News
On Saturday 18th September I woke up at 4:30 AM to get to DABCEC in Crawley for 5:30. Here I was joined by other young people from parishes from West Sussex to receive our ‘Pilgrim Packs’ and set off in the coach to meet the rest of young people from Arundel and Brighton. Once the whole diocese had been reunited we made our way to Westminster where mass was being held in the morning. There were already hundreds of young people waiting in the piazza, each diocese in different colour t-shirts (although annoyingly Salford had decided to turn up in white too…). We waited for about 2 hours getting to know not only new faces in the A&B group but of other dioceses around us in the piazza, chanting, cheering, singing and even appearing on Sky News if only for a brief second.
Mass began at about 10-ish and all the youth outside were watching on the big screen and so were able to join in the mass. Most of the mass was sung in Latin but the music and translations were available in the order of service we were given so we knew what we were saying or singing and were able to join in. During mass it hadn’t really sunk in that the Pope, Head of the Catholic Church, one of the most important people in the world was saying mass. I was celebrating mass said by the Pope. What made this moment even more special was that we had the opportunity to receive communion so almost all of the 2,500 young people gathered outside in the piazza were able to share communion together and with the Pope. It was at communion that I realised how lucky I actually was – this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m part of it, I doubt I will be in this situation anytime again soon.
The Pope was then due to address the young people in the Piazza and as he made his way down the aisle the doors of the Cathedral opened though surprisingly, the crowd outside was very quiet. As a few of the bishops left the building, there were a few murmurs, claps and a couple of cheers but otherwise it was almost silent. Then The Holy Father took one step outside (in his rather glamorous red boots) and the crowd erupted into praise. We were chanting ‘Benedictum’, singing ‘We love you Papa, we do!’ clapping, a few screams here and there. We were behaving as if …Jason Derulo had just come on stage. I’m literally in love with MIKA and when I saw him in March I was cheering and screaming all night. However, how I felt about MIKA that evening was nothing compared with the adoration and love I felt for Pope Benedict as he stepped out into the sun. I was overcome with awe and the youth around me all became emotional as he waved to us. If someone had told me 5 years ago that I would one day soon be cheering for the Pope like a celebrity only a few metres away I wouldn’t have believed them. It was almost too much to understand that we were in the same presence as this amazing religious figure.
If you were watching the live coverage on TV you would have seen and heard the beautiful address from Paschal Uche on behalf of all the young Catholics in England, Scotland and Wales. He spoke about how the youth are increasingly involved in the church community and that there are many opportunities for us to get involved. He concludes by the saying the youth of today are the future for the Catholic Church. One phrase Paschal said that really spoke to me was ‘Your visit brings us together. It is like a family reunion.’ It really made me feel proud to be a catholic, that I’m not the only young person who likes to support their faith, that there are thousands of others just like me in the UK who want to follow their religion and idolise the Pope. We are a family; the Pope is our Holy Father. He guides us and looks after us. The Pope is also called ‘Papa’ which also means father. All the young Catholics surrounding me are not just friends, but my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Pope Benedict spoke of love and how we receive and give love from our hearts. This is the theme of his visit to the UK: Heart speaks unto Heart. He says how we need to pray and be still to feel Jesus’ present, take a break from our hectic lives and give Jesus some time for us to focus just on him. I think there is a lack of rest and peace in most people’s lives today. Many practising Christians don’t understand their faith as well as they might like to simply because they don’t put aside a few moments each day for God. I used to be like that until I went to Lourdes as a redshirt and now every day I spend a few minutes just to be with God and it has made me feel happier in myself and helped relax me when I feel stressed or worried.
The presenter on BBC 2 said on Saturday after the Pope had addressed the young people that our enthusiasm strengthened him and gave him something to feed off. I also feel that his love for the young Catholics of today helped strengthen us and his inspiration feeds us. Catholic’s don’t just look up to the Pope for who he is, they look up to him for what he represents and that’s what a lot of people of today forget. He represents the Catholic faith, he represents Jesus’ love for us, and he represents the family figure of the Catholic Church.
When the mass and assembly had ended the young people quickly made their way through the streets of London to collect lunch from trucks holding about 3,000 packed lunches. We sat in our own diocesan groups in a park to eat but soon were on the move again to get to Hyde Park for the Papal Vigil.
Being part of the youth group meant we had seats closer to the front than the public which was an honour. We were entertained by dancers, theatre groups, gospel choirs, musicians and various presentations shown on the big screens. Then after about one hour of entertainment the procession of began: this consisted of representatives from all dioceses in England, Scotland and Wales, youth groups, Catholic work groups, prayer groups, each holding banners, signs, flags whilst cheering, music and dancing was also going on. The procession lasted for about an hour but then afterwards we were joined with a few more leaders and young people from A&B who had been in the procession and not at the mass in Westminster. It was nice that were finally all together again.
Then we heard testimonies from 3 people who had relied on their religion a lot in their lives and one story really touched me: One of the men who spoke had had a brilliant life when he was younger, always had everything he wanted and never asked for more. In spite of this he turned to drugs and all his relationships broke down. A few years on he was homeless but a Catholic charity helped him even though he was not and still isn’t a catholic. They helped him through rehab and helped him to rebuild his relationship with his family. I loved how spending only a few months with this charity enabled him to renew his life and get back on track.
Soon after the testimonies the big screens tuned in to show The Holy Father making his way to Hyde Park in the Pope-mobile. There was cheering for the whole 15 minutes he was on screen before he entered park but as he entered Hyde Park and drive around the area of young people the cheering, chanting and praise grew louder. The New English Orchestra and choir began to sing Alleluia and the atmosphere was just overwhelming. We were so close to him; it was magical. I remember saying to my friends beside me ‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh’ over and over again. I was actually speechless which for me, is a record.
Then the evening Vigil began. After an introduction and welcome from the Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Reverend Peter Smith and The Holy Father we had a reading and gospel. After the homily in which The Holy Father spoke of John Henry Newman, now Blessed John Henry Newman he lit the Paschal Candle and from this candles from the Parish representatives were lit. This was beautiful as although we couldn’t see the crowd of people in the front holding the candles the images from the big screen showed how still and bright the flames were in the dark evening. This part of the vigil was to emphasise the light of Christ being with us and also being with us in body as the Blessed Sacrament procession began.
The next part of the vigil was, for me, one of the most amazing moments of the day and one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. The Holy Father knelt in front of the monstrance and lead adoration. For the first few minutes of adoration you could have heard a pin drop in the crowd of 80,000 people. Then the choir began to sing. I have been in the presence of the Eucharist before and I have to admit I haven’t always felt any benefit from it. I didn’t really use the time I was given well and I would mutter a rushed prayer and daydream for the remaining time but on Saturday I prayed for the whole time. Not for my own needs but for leaders, other religions, the homeless, those who have lost faith, lonely, sick, deceased, all my family and friends and the Towers Community and my Parish community. I also thanked God for the opportunity to be in the presence of the Pope because like I felt at mass and sudden rush of realisation came over me and it sunk in that I was in the same arena of the Pope, breathing the same air, in his presence. I found that quite hard to take in but at the same time I was unbelievably privileged to be part of it.
Litany of the sacred heart then followed and then we had Benediction which was spectacular as I have only had Benediction once and for my second time in which I actually knew what was going on the Pope was leading it. He then thanked everyone for coming and blessed us before leaving Hyde Park. I was slightly saddened by the fact that it was all over but then I told myself ‘It doesn’t have to be. You can tell your friends, family, youth group, church. You will remember this day for the rest of your life, there may never be another time when you will ever be so close to the Pope again.’
As we left Hyde Park to make our way back to the coach one of my leaders was beaming and so we asked why and she simply said: ‘I love Jesus. I just love him. I think he’s lovely and I love him. I love Jesus.’ We all laughed a bit at this but then we realised, well actually so do we… we felt the same and Saturday has made us more aware of our faith, proud to be Catholic and has strengthened our belief in God.
So I leave you with one thought: The Holy Father’s message is: Every single human being of whatever religion is entitled to and worthy of happiness. The greatest tragedy in life is that most people never find their happiness because they are looking for it in the wrong place. You will only have true happiness if you learn to love. When Pope Benedict says ‘Heart speaks unto Heart’ he does not mean just understanding each other, He means for you to love each other.
Catherine Anne Crick
