World Youth Day

July 24, 2023

By Rob Herbst
The Catholic Week
James Mayhall is ready to pray with fellow teenage Catholics from around the world.
Mayhall, who will be a senior at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School this fall and attends St. Ignatius Parish in Mobile, is set to attend World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. St. Ignatius Parish is organizing the trip that includes 14 high schoolers.
“I want to go to World Youth Day because this is one of the only events in the whole world where thousands of Catholic young adults and children from across the world gather to unite under the universal faith that we all share,” Mayhall said. “As a teenager in our society, I wish to see the other teenagers who are striving to live a life of Christ, and I hope to interact and learn from the many people I may meet.”
More than 1 million young Catholics are expected to gather Aug. 1-6 in Lisbon for World Youth Day. WYD was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985 and this will be the 17^th WYD. The most recent WYD took place in 2019 in Panama and St. Ignatius Youth Director Scott Boylan said this was an opportunity not to pass up.
“It will help them see just how universal the Church is and how far reaching it is,” Boylan said. “It’s easy to get sort of tunnel vision when it comes to your own culture and your own people and your own city, state and even nation. Hopefully this will help them broaden their horizons and see what else is out there.”
Pope Francis will attend WYD. A welcome ceremony is scheduled for Aug. 2. He will celebrate Mass for WYD on the final day, Aug. 6 and the young people from St. Ignatius and other neighboring parishes are scheduled to attend both.
“(Seeing the pope) for most people is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Mayhall said.
While WYD is in early August, the pilgrims are set to leave July 27 for Spain. Boylan said they will stay a few days in Madrid and Barcelona.
Among the highlights will be a day trip to Avila to visit the birthplace of St. Teresa of Avila, and to Manresa to visit the Cave of St. Ignatius, where St. Ignatius retired to meditate and write his spiritual exercises.
In Portugal for WYD, the pilgrims will also take a day trip to Fatima and visit the Chapel of Apparitions of the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.
“I am most looking forward to going to Fatima,” Mayhall said. “I have recently done a consecration to Our Blessed Mother, and now I will be visiting one of the sites where she appeared to the world, which is mind-blowing to me.”
Boylan said planning for the pilgrimage began in November. He gauged the interest of the teens’ families and found considerable support.
He’s also found considerable financial support from the parish community who have found the trip to be an important pilgrimage.
“They’ve been so great about it,” Boylan said. “Seeing that will hopefully kind of get (the teens) in the right frame of mind and realize how important it is to live a life in Christ according to his teachings through the Church.”

Been planning since November I think.

14 high schoolers
6 chaperones
2 seminarians
Talbott Nicholas

We were looking for something to do this summer. It’s a big trip. St. Ignatius does a mission trip.
Melinda mentioned to me that world youth day was this year.
Figured it’d be important to take advantage of that. Just being to kind of experience the culture in Spain and Portugal because we are going to both Spain and Portugal. They’ be able to see a culture with maybe more history rooted in Catholicism. Everywhere you turn there’s a different church that’s been there longer than the United States has existed.
From seeing Avila to seeing where St. Teresa of Avila was born and her church to School of Salamanca with some very important intellectual history of the church that occurred there. With some of the Jesuit priests.
Going to Fatima as well which clearly is special in this day and age and paramount to learn about and to meditate on and to buy use onwn life. Then being able to end
St. Ignatius cave in Manresa near Barcelona.
Emphasis on beauty and seeing how at least in one point in history the laypeople as well as the Church put such an emphasis on beauty and beautiful churches, when you see how much investment and time and money these churches took it teaches you something – beauty is certainly important. Everything in today’s society is very efficient, especially in the u.s. efficiency is good but there’s also an order thing to things. Beauty plans an essential role to that order.
They’ll hopefully come to appreciate a better sense of
Youth minister/director – 1 year
First I made sure we had interest. A message to parents with a google signup sheet.
Ask them to see if we had the interest.
There was clearly interest.

15 or 16 showed interest. The retainment was good.

Its easy to get sort oftunnel vision when it comes ot your own culture and your own people and your own city, state and even nation. Hopefully this will help them broaden their horizions and see what else is out there.
There’s something to be said for seeing cities that were built for the purpose of glorifying God and the way they are all centered around a basilica and the streets are named a more exaggerated form of that.
All tied into the Church in some way.
July 27- fly to madrid. 3 or 4 nights. Day trips.
Barcelona 2 nights. Day trip to Manresa Monserrat
Flying from there to Lisbon. Rest of trip. 3 o4 r days. Papal welcome. Vigil Mass with the pope. Day trip to Fatima.
Aug. 6

Movie night, school dances, independent fundraising.
They’ve been so great about it. To a point I don’t want to ask them anymore.
Seeing the pope is something in of itself. Furthermore

It will help them see just how universal the church is and how far reacing, especially being from Mobile, a place with deep ties to catholic history in contrast to other areas of the country, it might make it easier to see there’s something outside the archdiocese of mobile. The Church is universal.
What I’m hoping is that
These are all great kids and interested in the right kind of things. These are experiences they can hopefully. I can teach all those things
Theres something to be said for isolationg yourself away from all the trappings of day to day life and dumping yourself into everyday they’re kind of focusing on the right things and the important hings that they’ve never witnessed before and couldn’t have witnessed before.

Seeing that will hopefully kind of get them in the right frame of mind and realize how important it is to live a life in Christ according to his teachings through the church

James Mayhall
1.) I want to go to World Youth Day because this is one of the only events in the whole world where thousands of Catholic young adults and children from across the world gather to unite under the Universal Faith that we all share. As a teenager in our society, I wish to see the other teenagers who are striving to live a Life of Christ, and I hope to interact and learn from the many people I may meet. I also want to be able to see the Pope, which is, for most people, a once in a lifetime opportunity. Along with all of that, there are so many Holy and Sacred sites, churches, and cities that I am dying to go visit and pray there. I will also be able to share these experiences with some of my closest friends and mentors, which is truly a blessing.

2.) I am most looking forward to going to Fatima. I have recently done a consecration to Our Blessed Mother, and now I will be visiting one of the sites where she appeared to the world, which is mind-blowing to me. Also, the many different churches and shrines in Fatima are beautiful. I hope to be able to pray to Our Lady while there and take in the sanctity of the village.