We woke up sunday morning at varying hours, ate breakfast, and picked up our sleeping bags in preparation for the Papal Mass. It was very exciting to be able to see Pope Benedict VI in the pope mobile and he even drove within five feet of us! The Mass was beautiful and it was amazing for me to be able to attend a Mass said by the Pope however due to the weather conditions of the night before we could not recieve the Eucharist. At the end of Mass Pope Benedict XVI blessed our religious items. After Mass we ate our lunch, traded some items and got in line to leave. We were a little concerned about our journey back to the hotel since the temperatures yesterday reached about 110 F and today at least 104 F. The only thing which makes this heat bearable is that the humidity is low. Some of us took taxis and others walked the long way to a working bus stop. After we all took our much needed showers we all gathered in Fr. Paul's room for Mass. For dinner we went to a restaurant named La Camocha and had a huge meal of tapas (many small finger foods brought out one by one). Some of the food items were more exotic such as octopus.
Tonight most of our group is attending the "Gracias" futbol (soccer) match at Vincente Calderon stadium. As we are updating the blog we have had the local news on, and we saw several of our pilgrims cheering and having a great time on the tv!
Tomorrow is our free day - we will go off with chaperones to a variety of activities or sites in Madrid.
Hasta Luego,
Rebecca A. and Joy
It has been so good to read about your experience. We watched as much as we could on EWTN and of course looked in the crowd for familiar faces. The priest at Mass today in Centerville, MA spoke so proudly about the youth of the Catholic Church and made special mention about the pilgrims in Madrid today. He was so happy speak about the youth having Mass with the Pope and in such great numbers which is the future of our Catholic Church. We were so proud to tell him that you all are there. We will be praying for your safe trip home and cannot wait to hear all about your travels. God bless you all.
ReplyDeleteElaine
Our experience has been similar to Elaine's. We've watched the weekend's events via CTV on our computer, and marveled at their magnitude and beauty. Fr. Mark also remarked proudly about our pilgrims, and about the Pope's message of love and hope. Im sure it was an incredible experince to pray and experience the Mass with 1.5 million people. What a weekend!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the soccer game and your day off, and come home safely. We miss you all and can't wait for your return.
Rick