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..are full of happy pilgrims, waving their flags, greeting one another and getting lots of food!! Here are some shots…

We went to check out our venue for Catechesis this morning and ran into a huge Australian gathering in the arena. Looks pretty cool. There are loads and loads of Aussie pilgrims in the area around us. All very friendly and welcoming.

..and finally some shots of the streets around our hotel.

This evening we go to the opening Mass, which we are really looking forward to. Reports will follow…

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.

Final Mass at our lovely parish. We are so sad to say goodbye to our families, but we’re looking forward to going to Madrid.

Today is a day for all of the pilgrims staying in each diocese to get together. The pilgrims staying in Salamanca are having an amazing time in and around the city. We gathered together for Mass at 9.30 at Alba de Tormes. A wonderful liturgy, and a warm up for next Sunday with two million other people and the Pope.

After Mass we had a tour of the town before being taken to Salamanca for a bit of free time.

This evening is vespers in the Cathedral followed by the festival of nations in which we are singing our Beatles medley!!

Okay, some photos…

Those of us staying in the rural south of the diocese of Salamanca haven’t been as active at posting as our friends in Salamanca City. Its quite rural where we are and alas we don’t know the Spanish for ‘wifi hotspur!’ Also, they’ve kept us very busy!!

But anyway…

We have been doing a lot in the deanery with our host parishes. Above is Stephen reading during a Mass.

..and this is a shot of us relaxing.

Friday was a day in parish groups whereas Saturday was a day with the entire deanery. On Saturday we Began the day with a visit to the beautiful town of Montemayor where we had a liturgy and then workshops. After lunch we went to a monastery which was 5,000 ft up for a beautiful Mass celebrated by a French bishop staying in the deanery.

Okay, here are some photos…

This morning some of us took part in an emotive international prayer service before we merged our teams and split up to take part in a range of tours around the city. Our group followed ‘Ignatius’ Footsteps’ aroundthe cathedral… and in order to really experience St Ignatius’ journey in a new and strange place we were blindfolded! We were led around by our partners, which really tested our trust as many of our partners were complete strangers (although they are strangers no more- and we traded a lot of souvenirs!) It was great fun and we’re looking forward to tomorrow’s activities!