By Doug Tooke

God was with us and blessed us abundantly, from the rosary we prayed together on the midnight bus ride en route to the Spokane airport, to the final Mass we celebrated in the upstairs mezzanine of the Los Angeles airport.

World Youth Day shook the planet with its profession of faith and witness of hope.

The 46 pilgrims from the Diocese of Helena experienced a life changing spiritual journey. We began in New Plymouth in the Taranaki valley of New Zealand for four days of gift-giving hospitality and gracious open hearts.

Our pilgrimage started in the homes of the parishioners of St. Joseph Parish, New Plymouth. Our hosts were like new fathers and mothers, caring and loving in the name of our shared Catholic faith. We were blessed with daily adventures throughout the Taranaki. The love we experienced was the embrace of a new family we never would have known had it not been for the opportunity World Youth Day presented.

From New Zealand we landed in Sydney, Australia, where we would reside for nearly 13 days. Sacred Heart Parish and School in Mosman (north Sydney) would be our home. Again, we were showered with a warm welcome and an entire city on fire for what was to come. It is impossible to summarize a faith gathering of this magnitude. Whenever 400,000 Catholic faithful are gathered, you know the Holy Spirit is going to be present, and we felt that presence!

From adoration in the crypt of St. Mary’s Cathedral and the Sydney Opera House to the opening and closing liturgies with Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, and our holy father Pope Benedict XVI, our group of pilgrims was enamored. The Diocese of Helena representatives witnessed a three and a half hour live Stations of the Cross, the healing of reconciliation and daily catechesis sessions. Each day brought enriching spiritual growth and the visible presence of the universal Church.

We are so thankful for the faithful leadership of Msgr. Don Shea and Father Mark Lenneman. Our pilgrimage would not have been the same without them.

We must pray that the blessing of the Holy Spirit in the joy of World Youth Day brings forth a new enthusiasm for our faith here in Montana. Let us hear the call of the Holy Spirit and become its witnesses (Acts 1:8).


Doug Tooke is the youth minister for the diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry.
For more photogaphs from the WYD pilgrimage, visit www.dohyouth.org.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 24, No. 8, August 15, 2008.