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Helen and Jins, intrepid WYD reporters, made the most of the crowds and spoke to many pilgrims, asking what they think makes WYD so special.

From Chicago, a young American described his time in Madrid as ‘awesome’, ‘cool’ but ‘hot’ as well. He said, ‘It’s amazing to have people from 6 out of the 7 continents and to meet such a variety of people who are all here because of a love for the Lord’.

A group of young people from Hong Kong said: ‘It is amazing to see so much youth who share joy, experience and faith and are united’.

Those from the Philipines described the pilgrimage as a ‘mission’ and a ‘great experience’.

And although it had been hectic and chaotic for the young people from South Africa (they’d lost some of their group), it had been an ‘experience’ for them.

This is how close we got!!

Here are some photos from the Via Crucis……….

Some thoughts form our A&B pilgrims…

Margaret Hunt (Crawley) – ‘World Youth Day is a brilliant experience that I am very lucky to be able to share with so many great people, not only from my own diocese but from the whole world.’

Katy Mattman (Brighton) – ‘It’s absolutely amazing. I just chased the Pope half way down the street and got caught in a Spanish Stampede. It was like a scene from the Lion King, but it was all worthwhile because I got to see the Pope for real. My team weren’t very happy that I ran away from them but they waited for me which was nice of them.’

Michael Brennan (Guildford) – ‘World Youth Day has been great fun. Highlights have been meeting people around the world, experiencing the culture of Spain and finally seeing the Pope.’

Tom Silverson (Littlehampton) – ‘Amazing. I got within ten metres of the Pope in his Popemobile! The group as a whole has really bonded. Everyone has come together as one.’

Simon Fitzgerald (Woking) – ‘Manic, chaos, but enjoyable with an obvious presence of Christ.’

Phil L’Estrange (Burgess Hill) – ‘Really uplifting experience. Nice to see people from around the world. To get to know other people from different countries is great.’

Emilia Titherly (Horsham) – ‘I like the group atmosphere. There is a huge number of people from all over the world. I like the fact that we have all become one. I also like the free food. That’s always good!! ‘

(we’ll tell her later that food costs were built into the price she paid!)

Fr. Peter Andrews (Horsham, soon to be Woking!) – ‘I have waited nearly 63 years for this experience and it hasn’t disappointed me one jot. I had no idea what to expect but even in my ignorance I cold not have anticipated the excitement, joy, companionship, prayerful worship and great fun that has been my joy to be part of!’

Jonathan Batt (Ascot) – ‘It has given me a view of the wider Church. Too often we see the Church as just our individual parishes, but here we can see the universal Church in action which is pretty amazing!!’

Lawrie Swithenbank (Dorking) – ‘It’s an awesome time. Great fun with some friends from all over the world – Having random chats with them all!’

Jenna Williams  (Guildford) – ‘I have absolutely adored catechesis. It has been enlightening. The whole thing is an overwhelming feeling of pure faith.’

Clare Monaghan (Guildford) – ‘It’s been amazing meeting people from different countries and to have the chance to celebrate your faith together without feeling self-conscious. Staying with the nuns in Salamanca was a truly humbling experience and one I will never forget.’

The most amazing part followed. By shere chance, when leaving the area where the stations of the cross were held, the green team found itself in a section where the Pope was due to come past in his Popemobile. Then, we were moved into an even better position by the police! We were VERY up close and personal!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was SO exciting to get so close to the presence of His Holiness. All around there were people on other people’s shoulders trying to get closer. Being part of him coming past is something we’ll never forget. We have some FANTASTIC footage!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!! A&B pilgrims can be very proud of themselves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We’ve just come back from the Stations of the Cross. Traditional, life-size statues had been brought from all over Spain which are used during Spanish Semana Santa (Holy Week). We could only view the proceedings on big screens, and even then we couldn’t necessarily see very well. In teams, everyone followed along in the pilgrims’ booklets we had, reading and reflecting on the 14 stations (slightly different to how we do them in England). It was really challenging and A&B managed to keep a real sense of reflection and prayer, despite the noise and distractions around.