Yeah, that’s right. Our hotel is beautiful, the weather hit a lovely 44 degrees today and the streets are fast filling up with World Youth Day pilgrims from around the world. In our hotel there are groups from Brooklyn, various parts of Canada and a few other parts of the world too.
Arriving here has been a real blast. It’s also given us a chance to look back on an amazing few days in Salamanca. Here are a few photos from the last days in Salamanca (mainly from the Arundel group in the South) and our first few hours in Madrid…
Below is an awesome photo to start with. We performed a Beatles medly for the festival of nations in Salamanca. Going up onto the stage in front of 3,000 people was a little scary, but let’s be honest… it was also very, very cool!!
After we performed we had time to relax and chill out. Here is a shot of some of our pilgrims dancing at the side of the Square.
The Festival of Nations took place in the Plaza Mayor which is the (rather beautiful) main Square in Salamanca.
Above is a shot of two teams from the Arundel half who were staying in the town of Horcajo de Montemayor in the South of the Diocese. These two teams are seen here with Father Alfredo who looked after us. In the photo you can see the statue of the Virgin Mary which was carried through the streets shortly after for the Assumption procession. Talking of which…
The Feast of the Assumption is a big deal in Spain which is why we felt very honoured to take such a big part in the celebrations. Our own Fr. Kevin and Fr. Richard lef the procession and the Mass, with a few of our pilgrims working with the locals to lead the music.
Anyway… after Mass and a big of packing and hugging, we blocked the traffic for another photo (not a good idea, even in remote areas!!) before heading off in coaches to Madrid!!
We arrived in Madrid, checked in to our rather nice hotel and had a meeting all together. Bishop Kieran was there to meet us, and he led us in prayer before the meeting started…
The meeting also gave us a chance to get out World Youth Day packs (hats included)
As World Youth Day progresses, there will be loads more reports and photos (yeah, internet access is better here!!) so keep checking back.
