Detroit – Some of the young people from the Archdiocese of Detroit kept the folks at home apprised of their Madrid World Youth Day experiences via web logs – or blogs – on the Internet.

Here are some of their blog entries, starting with one posted August 18 by Holly Tockstein, youth minister at Christ the Good Shepherd Parish, Lincoln Park:

“We can’t believe the crowds here. We heard that there were going to be over a million youth here in Madrid, but until you really experience it, you have no clue! Just ask one of our young people about the subway — holding backpacks over your head is usually a must! (And yes, we have already experienced half of our group getting off the train at one stop and the other half getting caught on the train behind the automatic closing doors . . . trading t-shirts and hats with the French! We blamed the French priest on that one, although the half of our group that got off the train might say differently). :)

“On Wednesday, we attended our first catechesis session and Mass at the Palacio of Deportes with a cardinal from Sydney, Australia. We attended Mass with over 10,000 people! We found a great place for lunch that day (some liked it for the “American-tasting” food they were able to get, others liked it for the lentil and garlic soups, and others liked it for our cheerful waiter and waitress). In the evening, we met up with all 400 pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Detroit at San Demaso for a special Mass led by our new AOD Bishop, Bishop Hanchon! Some parts of the Mass were in English and others were in Spanish since our hosts from Madrid joined us, as well as youth from Ecuador, the Cayman Islands, and Germany.
“We attended our second catechesis session at a basilica near the Atocha train station this morning, and it was amazing! It was so full that people were sitting on the floor along the aisles and along the back of the basilica (we were one of those groups sitting on the floor in the back — guess that’s what happens when you’re late!) As the bishop was giving his homily, the church bells began ringing loudly to signal that the pope had entered Madrid! And later in the day, we got our first glimpse of the pope! (Only on the big screen for now — some of us were along the route with cameras in hand, but the PopeMobile decided to take a different route to Cibeles Square). The space in front of the huge screens was completely filled with hundreds of young people — dancing and shouting cheers for the pope. It was so amazing to dance and cheer with people from all over the world! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

And here’s one from the same day posted on the blog of the pilgrims from St. Gerald Parish, Farmington:

“’Benedicto! Benedicto! Viva, Papa, Viva!’ The chorus of two million Catholics upon the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI. It was finally the day! But before the passing of the Pope-mobil, we had much to do.
The intense walking and short nights finally caught up with us, and the morning was very slow going. The group voted to skip the Catechesis session (shhh) and just have a St. Gerald Cathechism lesson at the dorms. We all thought that we had gotten more out of our own discussion than the presentations supplied at the real session, and it was nice to just relax and go over topics that we were confused or lost on. A quick morning rain had us all hoping for a cooler day, but in Madrid, apparently that doesn’t happen. It was one of the hottest days yet.

"A late start at noon only gave us an extremely crowded metro station; so crowded that we couldn’t move forward and we had to turn back. We took a deep breath and walked to find a spot that would allow us to see the pope drive by, stopping on the way to grab both lunch and dinner at a small café that had mystery cream on EVERY sandwhich. By the time we reached the plaza where the Pope would conclude his drive, the place was already packed with people striving to get the best spot. After realizing there was no way we would get any front seats, we settled in a spot in the shade and set up camp. The rest of the day saw many hardships, yet also many excitements.

Unfortunately for us, our spot wasn’t in the shade for long. The sun decided to be ever so kind and beat down on us with unforgiving rays for two hours too long. Our umbrellas and fans came in real handy, as did water and our floppy WYD hats. The square in which we sat soon filled up with people shoving to get to the front (literally…shoving). We were actually allowed to scream at people to keep them from stepping over/through our set up, as many people did, even though there was CLEARLY not an inch of room where they were heading.

Five hours of waiting saw card games, sharpie tattoos, dancing and singing to Spanish music, and realizing that our pre-bought dinners were actually inedible after sitting in our packs in the sun. Everyone’s moods were lifted when the square’s screen focused on Pope Benny getting into his Pope-Mobil. The crowds stood, the chants became louder (we were very enthusiastic, if you were wondering), and the excitement rose. “Esta es, la juventud del papa!”was heard all throughout the city. It was amazing to see little kids and adults alike jump up and down in anticipation for the Catholic Church’s papa. Although we could not see him directly from our spot, we still cheered and waved as he and his security passed by where we were.

What came next was a lovely prayer service led by the Pope, complete with the singing of the Gospel, intentions, and a wonderful performance by the WYD choir and orchestra. Our radios were on as we listed to both the English and various other language versions of the service. Hearing the pope’s voice on the microphone in the nearby center made everything all the more real and inspiring.

Upon Pope Benny’s departure, we linked to make a chain so as not to get lost in the crowd of two million. Not very easy. We managed to weave our way out of the sea of people without losing anyone, however. Pure talent. Due to serious bathroom emergencies, and also a craving for something delicious, we stopped into a Starbucks coffee on our walk to the metro. It was truly amazing to be able to sit down with a frappachino (and fruit, and cake) and just relax. And lucky for us, by the time we were done, most of the city had cleared out and we totally avoided the pain of shoving onto a crowded train. (We did jump on the wrong train, though, and in a panicked flurry jumped off at the next stop so we could make it to the right train before the station shut down for the night).

Tired from our walking and shoving, satisfied from our Starbucks, and ready to shower and relax, we are now back at the dorm and ready to sit outside in the beautiful night and relax, knowing we are getting a rare sleep-in day tomorrow. God bless the little things in life."