Opening Day - World Youth Day

Today we started to taste the wrath of WYD... The morning started off franticly, as Fr. Ben knocked on my door slightly troubled by a conversation that he had with a fellow priest in the lobby. Apparently he needed to register as a Priest with WYD, or he would be unable to celebrate Mass, or hear confessions at the WYD events. So, this morning we spent scrambling around trying to get the info from St. Albert's (some of you probably got an e-mail on this), and then Fr. Ben had to wait in a 6+ hours line to get his correct pass (apparently we weren't the only ones with no idea about this "priest pass"). I can let you know that everything worked out in the end, and Fr. Ben will be able to rejoin our group for EVERYTHING tomorrow. Yippee! His presence was missed today.

Ok, so after the scramble in the morning (there is a egg pun somewhere in there), we went to a Diocese of Detroit Morning Prayer/Welcome. It was really nice, and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Following that event, we headed down to the area where the opening ceremony was to occur, 4+ hours later. However, our group made the best out of those 4 hours. Just about everyone traded their items, joined in songs with other groups, and took numerous pictures with other pilgrims... On a side note, we must of had at least 1 person ask our group every 5 minutes to take a picture of our "it takes GUTS to be Catholic" quote on the back of our hoodies. Furthermore, whoever came up with the hoodie idea (Alfonso???), was ingenious. They are PERFECT for the temperature, and the orange is very useful... Additionally, getting there so early was very useful, as we got to get right up to the Altar/Stage (the closest that I've ever been).

Finally, after the Opening Mass, WYD held a concert with a lot of dancing and singing. Pretty much all of us got into the music.

The only downfall was the food situation. Don't worry, we all ate, but the organization and communication of the food distribution made it very confusing and chaotic (and time consuming). I'm hoping that they reexamine the situation for tomorrow.

All in all, everyone had a great time, and they were all whooped at the end of the day...

~Brian Walker

PS: I tried to post some pictures, but the internet wasn't cooperating... (and it's 12.15am right now). I'm heading to bed, and I'll try in the morning...