Encounter with Pope Francis in Poland

The Lord does not keep his distance, but is near and real.  He is in our midst and he takes care of us.”  
~Pope Francis
World Youth Day 2016 
Czestechowa Mass homily 
The anticipation for the arrival of Pope Francis at World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow, Poland, was building throughout the week.  By Thursday, the crowd of pilgrims was around 1 million.  The city was alive and very crowded.  With a special visitor to the city, the trains were delayed on Thursday so there was a lot of walking.  Part of our group was heading to the royal castle.  When they arrived, the castle was closed due to the special visitor.  While they were standing on the sidewalk deciding on their next move, a motorcade came down the street.  Pope Francis was in the motorcade and passed right in front of them.  They were sending us pictures and videos of the encounter.  They quickly overcame their disappointment of missing out on visiting the castle and now were excited for the welcoming ceremony for Pope Francis that evening!
The welcoming ceremony was at Blonie Park in Krakow.  The park was a huge field.  Each group is assigned a section of the field with each section separated by barricades.  We were one of the first groups to arrive in our section.  We picked a spot by the barricade facing the main road into the field.  The thought was that Pope Francis might enter on this road.  One in our group noticed some guards on the other side of the field and made the suggestion to move.  After discussing it, we decided to move to the other side.  We asked one of the guards if Pope Francis would be entering on this path and his reaction answered our question even though he did not actually say that this was the path.  The field was filling up so we stationed ourselves on the barricade.  The crowd was pushing from behind to get a good view of Pope Francis entering the field and heading to the stage.
Overhead there was the sound of a helicopter.  The helicopter flew into the field and the guards secured the path that was right in front of us.  A few minutes later, Pope Francis was moving through the crowds on the path in the popemobile.  The crowd up against the barricade was at least 10 deep all along the path.  Pope Francis passed right in front of us a few yards away.  The joy in the crowd was amazing!  The anticipation was now met with enthusiasm by over a million pilgrims.
After an incredible welcoming ceremony, Pope Francis addressed the crowd with a message of encouragement to the young people to be courageous in their faith by “building bridges and tearing down walls, barriers and barbed wire.” This was a great message to the crowd gathered and to everyone around the world following World Youth Day from home.  
The number of pilgrims continued to grow and gathered on Friday evening for the Stations of the Cross at Blonie Park with Pope Francis in attendance.  The Stations were spread out around the field with each presented in dramatic fashion.  The Stations were on a grand scale.  The Pope gave an address answering the question “Where is God” in our world.
It was already an incredible week and now the focus turned to the closing Mass on Sunday.  More pilgrims would arrive between Friday and Sunday.  Krakow was packed and the celebration was nonstop.
Next month:  Pope Francis celebrates the closing Mass at World Youth Day!
— Tex Phelps is the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese of Mobile. He may be emailed at [email protected]
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