In July and August 2023, St David’s College students accompanied the Archdiocese of Cardiff and the Diocese of Menevia on a two-week pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. World Youth Day is one of the largest gatherings of people in the world, and routinely attracts between 2 and 4 million young people who want to get a sense of the Universal Church.
The theme was “Mary arose and went with haste”, a quotation from the Gospel of Luke (7:39). Libby, Meg, Charlie, Aaron, Kezi, Thabo, and Dianella joined Archbishop Mark O’Toole and over fifty other pilgrims on the journey.
The first week was spent in the Diocese of Porto, exploring the rich cultural history and life of the Church from their local accommodation in the town of Aguda. Their second week was spent in Fàtima, where they visited key historical sites and welcomed Pope Francis to a public prayer service before the Shrine. The trip culminated in World Youth Day itself, a major event that hosted around 1.5 million pilgrims to a communal all-night vigil and Mass.
Meg described the vigil as a particular highlight, and expressed how much she “appreciated that there are many different ways for people to pray and there are many ways people can interact with each other and share their opinions”.
Aaron went in search of an opportunity to meet new people, explore a new country, and get closer to God.
Charlie shared how it was a great chance to make new friends from all over the UK and beyond. Another pilgrim talked about how the experience was their first time outside the UK, and would recommend it to other young people: “it was an amazing experience”.
While the next World Youth Day is a few years away, St David’s is already arranging new opportunities for international spiritual pilgrimage and experience that welcomes students of all faiths and none. Stay tuned!
