Detroit pilgrims deepen friendship with God, one another at World Youth Day in Poland

KRAKOW — Celebrating Mass with the pope is an incredible thing. Celebrating it with 2 million fellow Catholics is almost too hard to even comprehend.

But there stood Sarah Mikota of Christ the Good Shepherd Parish in Lincoln Park, standing shoulder to shoulder with her brothers and sisters in Christ in Blonia Park for World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow, Poland.

“You just have the chance to close your eyes and listen to sound we create together, some half a million people all sharing in this one experience together,” Mikota said.

All throughout the week of July 25-31 in Krakow, an estimated 10 million Catholics from around the world gathered as one to celebrate a common faith and hoped to catch a glimpse of the one and only Pope Francis.

“It’s super, super inspiring to me walking around and knowing everyone around you shares the same faith, the same love of God,” Mikota said, speaking by phone from Poland with The Michigan Catholic. “We were all super excited to see the pope, it was very breathtaking. Our parish group was heading to where the pope was supposed to be, so we booked it there to get there early and wait.

“It was so insane, because he was hours late. But then we heard his voice and he blessed us. You had to stop in your tracks, didn’t matter what you were doing just then, because this is why you are here.”

A chance to see the Holy Father and celebrating Mass with him on July 30 was the highlight for most of the 400-plus pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Detroit, even if they only had a brief chance to see the pontiff.

“We got to where he was supposed to arrive at 12 noon, and we waited for five and a half hours,” said Sara Bowen of St. Colette Parish in Livonia. “But when he passed by, we were 10 ½ feet from him. When I saw him in person, my heart felt really warm, just seeing him was amazing. I cried because I couldn’t believe it was real.”

Pilgrims also had the opportunity to explore the Krakow area, seeing all the treasures the country has in faith and history.

“We saw the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy and St. Faustina and all the beautiful churches in the area,” said Theresa Shevenock, a pilgrim from St. Faustina Parish in Warren. “We spent a lot of time looking at so many sites throughout the city. There was just so much excitement throughout the country.”

Visiting the relic of their parish’s namesake at the Divine Mercy Center was a special highlight for the St. Faustina group, as all throughout the country each group from the archdiocese found their own special sites.

Isabella Andrew and the St. Colette group visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine, which reaches miles below the surface of the earth and features statues and shrines built by the miners.

“We went to the salt mine, and there were these gorgeous statues everywhere, these gorgeous chapels that were very much intact,” Andrew said. “It’s just so amazing something like that exists, but when you breathe in the air there you feel just amazing. There’s 180 miles of pathways down there, a statue of St. John Paul II and even a church where they could celebrate Mass.”

Pilgrims described the atmosphere at World Youth Day as “jubilant” and “transforming” to experience the solidarity among people who expressed immense pride in their nationalities and their faith.

“The energy is fantastic, everyone is happy to see each other and it seems like a gathering where people of all backgrounds can push that aside and unite in their faith,” said Mitchell Bonga of the St. Faustina group. “Some of the great experiences I’ve had include being with people on public transportation, trying foods native to Poland, and getting to know people in the rooms around us.

“It’s wonderful seeing how many young people are devoted to the Catholic faith in such a growing agnostic world.”

Detroit pride was also on display July 27, as Auxiliary Bishops Arturo Cepeda and Donald F. Hanchon celebrated Mass with the pilgrims at St. Margaret and St. Catherine Church in Krakow, starting praise and worship with the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Andrew from St. Colette was a lector for the archdiocesan Mass.

“It was so cool to see everyone from the Archdiocese of Detroit there, and it was cool to be the lector in front of the entire archdiocesan group,” Andrew said. “The day before, on Tuesday, we were packed in with about 2 million people, waiting to see the pope with our ears to our radios, listening to the translations, seeing all the flags waving around, singing music together. What really sticks out to me, everyone’s pride for their country, everyone is prideful of their religion.”

For the pilgrims who traveled from southeast Michigan to the heart of Europe, it was hard to put into words all the sights, sounds and prayers that encompass the enormity of World Youth Day, but one thing they know for certain: it left a remarkable impression.

“Traveling to Poland to meet Catholics from around the world is crazy to me,” said Joe Bonga of St. Faustina Parish. “I really didn’t expect such a big turnout. Everyone here was so excited to meet each other. It was really a great experience. Of all the sights and sounds, probably the biggest, most profound thing is when you’re surrounded by all these people you have something in common with, praying together. For those 15 or 20 minutes, you really feel closer to God.”