At the beginning of August, the World Catholic Youth Meeting was held in Lisbon, in which, according to the Portuguese organizers, around 300,000 young people took part, including more than 1,300 Hungarians from here and beyond the border.
You are the ones who want to change the world. Well, change it! You are like rain to the earth. It is Jesus Himself who is looking at you. He knows you, he knows your hearts. Here, in Lisbon, he also looks at you and says: don't be afraid! - said Pope Francis at the closing mass of the World Catholic Youth Meeting in front of around one and a half million pilgrims and believers, including more than 1,300 young Hungarians. But before the Holy Father closed the nearly week-long event, the young Hungarian pilgrims were able to participate in a number of programs.
The World Catholic Youth Meeting was opened by St. II. Pope János Pál called it into being in 1984, because he considered it important to have continuous contact with young people. The first event took place in Rome on Palm Sunday. The first four occasions were held in consecutive years, later the event was held every two or three years. Before Lisbon, the Catholic youth met in Panama City in 2019, but the following meeting in Portugal had to be postponed due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Photo: Youth Committee of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference
The next event will take place in Seoul in 2027, but until then there will be a similar program for young people. "In Rome - and of course in the whole world - it will be the Holy Year in 2025, which is why Pope Francis announced at the closing mass: he welcomes all young people to the eternal city," we learned from Dr. Kornél Fábry, appointed auxiliary bishop of Esztergom-Budapest, who participated in his ninth world meeting.
Motto: get up!
Most of the groups of Hungarians arrived in Lisbon on July 31 by plane, bus or bicycle, and found a home in Lumiár, one of the northern districts of the Portuguese capital. Kornél Fábry announced: 1,331 young people set out from Hungary, Transylvania, Partium, Felvidék and Délvidék, and more than thirty priests accompanied the young pilgrims on the long journey.
The world meeting is usually preceded by a 4-5 day pre-meeting, which this time was organized for young people by the Portuguese dioceses and various spiritual movements, such as the Emmanuel Community and the Chemin Neuf Community. Nearly three hundred young Hungarians took part in the pre-meetings organized in Coimbra (Emmánuel) and Portimao (Chemin Neuf) prior to the central events. In Coimbra, a mass was held with the participation of 12,000 young people, where the local bishop welcomed the pilgrims and was also the main celebrant of the mass.
Photo: Youth Committee of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference
The World Meeting officially began on the evening of August 1st with the opening Mass, which, according to tradition, was celebrated by the bishop of the local church, Cardinal Manuel Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon, in the VII. in Eduárd park. It was also at this time that several programs began: the Youth Festival, the City of Joy, the Reconciliation Park and the Vocations Expo.
The Youth Festival offered many spiritual, musical, cultural, theater, fine arts, leisure and sports programs to the participants. The City of Joy was the site of the recognition of Christ living among us: pilgrims could encounter events imbued with Christian joy throughout the city. The Park of Reconciliation offered young people the opportunity to meet the merciful God through the sacrament of confession. The purpose of the Vocations Expo programs was to help young people discover their vocation in life: either their profession, or their vocation dedicated to God in a family or special way.
Kornél Fábry said: those young people who are interested in the priesthood and monasticism could talk to monks and priests. He added to all this by providing a similar opportunity at the pre-meeting for those young people who are interested in the priestly profession.
In Lisbon, after the opening mass on the first of August, catechesis in languages was held for three days. As the motto of this year's event, the organizers chose the biblical scene when Mary got up in a hurry and went to Elizabeth, which is why the motto of the catechists is " Rise up! " volt. Contrary to the customs, not only catechesis was held, but the young people could also ask questions to the bishop who was giving the catechesis. The catechesis sessions were organized around three themes: on the first day, "Living in peace with the created world" , on the second, "Peaceful social coexistence" , and during the last session, "Mercy, friendship with God" was elaborated.
Dr. Kornél Fábry, appointed auxiliary bishop of Esztergom-Budapest / Photo: Tamás Császár
On the first day, Kornél Fábry greeted our young pilgrims in the São Jorge de Arroios church in Lisbon. Following the thoughts of Pope Francis, Father Kornél encouraged those present to think globally and act locally. "If you're in a place where you can wipe your hands with a hand towel, shake your hands twelve times over the sink, and a tear-off cloth will be enough. If a million people do this, we can save millions of papers. In other words, a lot depends on tiny, small things, don't think that we can't do something for the future of the world," Father Kornél Fábry mentioned an example. He added: the fate of the created world depends on what we can do when collecting waste and curbing littering.
After the introductory thoughts and the musical morning prayer, the young people talked in small groups about the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth, and were able to write questions to the Temesvár county bishop Csaba József Pál, who gave the catechesis. After the catechesis, the Holy Mass began, the main celebrant of which was Balázs Martos Levente, assistant bishop of the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest.
Common prayer in the subway
On the second day, catechesis continued; before that, there was a deep, honest testimony of a young man about his experience the night before, that on the way home, a young man was taken from the subway by an ambulance due to an epileptic seizure. The whole wagon prayed together for this participant. The morning lecture was given by Bishop Levente Martos Balázs, who then answered the often personal questions.
The second day of catechesis also ended with a holy mass, at which more than thirty priests concelebrated with László Böcskei, county bishop of Nagyvárad. "Within you is the power that transmits the message of peace, renewal and love. Many people are looking for solutions to problems and illnesses. I believe that you can convey an important message, a message of peace, renewal and love. In order to be able to do this, it is important to pay attention to the meeting that takes place in the Holy Mass. A very personal encounter with Jesus.” - said the bishop, according to the report of the Youth Committee of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference.
Archbishop Fülöp Kocsis of Hajdúdorog / Photo: Youth Committee of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference
The homily of the Holy Mass was delivered by Metropolitan Fülöp Kocsis of Hajdúdorog. In his homily, he explained the daily gospel. He pointed out that the image of gathering fish in Jesus' parable expresses the existence of heaven: "The heaven to which we have been invited is amazingly beautiful. How we decide is up to us. Whether we want to get in there or not. Hell also exists. You can get there. Where we end up will depend on our last decision," warned the archbishop. At the end of his speech, he drew attention to the fact that every World Youth Meeting is also a time of transformation for the participants, so he asked those present not to go home with nothing changed in their lives.
The theme of the third and final catechesis day of the World Youth Meeting was mercy, this day was again started by Kornél Fábry, and after the prayer, Fülöp Kocsis gave a short catechesis. In his speech, he recalled the words of Pope Francis, which he said during his April apostolic visit to the Forráspont event.
After the bishop's catechesis, a young girl from the diocese of Veszprém testified about her experience in confession. Then a glorifying liturgy began, for which the musical service was provided by the members of the Boanergés band participating in the world youth meeting. During the Adoration of the Sacraments, nearly thirty priests administered the Sacrament of Confession to hundreds of young people. The third day, like the two previous days, ended with a Holy Mass, the main celebrant of which was the county bishop of Vác, Zsolt Marton. The homily was delivered by László Böcskei, county bishop of Nagyvárad.
Photo: Youth Committee of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference
A day for the Hungarians thus looked like the participants started the morning with a common prayer, read the daily Gospel passage, which was discussed in small groups. After that, they listened to the already mentioned catechesis, after which they could ask questions. These sessions took place from 10:30 in the morning to 1:30 in the afternoon at (one) of the local parishes of the Emmanuel Community. In the afternoon, the young people could spend their time freely, taking part in various programs organized by the hosts: discussions, prayer times, concerts, and they could take advantage of the opportunity to go to confession. The organizers set up the accommodations in most schools.
On pilgrimage with Pope Francis
Late on Friday afternoon, the Hungarians gathered for a joint mass, the chief celebrant of which was Temesvár county bishop Csaba József Pál, the homily was delivered by Vác county bishop Zsolt Marton. The chief pastor related to the motto of this year's World Youth Meeting, supplementing it and giving a task to all young Hungarians. " Arise!" the call would sound like this in Hungarian: "Stand up Hungarian! Stand up Hungarian, hello home! ", he said, and added: it is the task of the young people to pass on everything they have experienced from the love of Christ when they return home from the meeting.
Photo: Youth Committee of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference
At six o'clock in the evening, the pilgrims could participate in a joint Way of the Cross together with Pope Francis in the VII. Eduárd park, the same place where the opening mass was held. Due to the large number of participants, they did not perform a traditional, "moving" Stations of the Cross, but held it on the central stage. The young pilgrims who arrived in Portugal then marched to the site of the vigil.
After the Holy Mass, the young people set off to the place of the night prayer vigil, Tejo Park, which became the Park of Grace for the time of the meeting. There, after the testimonies and spectacular choreographies, the Holy Father spoke to the young people. After that, everyone spent the night under the open sky. The following morning, the closing Mass that we mentioned in the introduction was celebrated by Pope Francis.
Photo: Youth Committee of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference
"The Portuguese prepared thoroughly for the event, except for one element: they probably slightly underestimated the size of the crowd. This was most evident during the vigil, when more people were allowed into the sectors than could spend the night there. Therefore, people even slept on the roads. Anyone who can't stand large crowds had a hard time enduring this night. After the fact, there are reports of 1-1.5 million participants. Meals during the week went smoothly with little expectations, young people could go to restaurants and chain stores with a meal ticket, where they could get pre-prepared meal packages. Transport was also well organized, with one ticket you could use all means of transport during the week, but let's add that the subways and buses were often very crowded, which is understandable, since the population of Lisbon doubled for these days. The organizers built the programs nicely and well, the young people were able to gain many experiences that they can take home and pass on. At all similar events, the personal meetings offer the most, many lifelong friendships can be forged and the participants can be enriched with many spiritual experiences", highlighted the advantages of the World Meeting, Kornél Fábry.
Author: Tamás Császár
Cover image source: Youth Committee of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference
