Day 1 - Pilgrimage to Cathedral and Opening Mass

Hey everyone! Before I go into what happened today there is one thing I did forget to mention about last night. After posting I went to dinner and then to an event at the Sydney Opera House. It was a vocal concert. Let me tell you that the last thing you want to do after being up for so long and being tired is go to a vocal concert consisting of chant and only chant. I was asleep for about half of it I'd say. I felt bad but then I saw that a bunch of kids were also falling asleep and got over it. I mean it's not an insult it just means that their music is very relaxing, right? And that's a good thing.

Today, first on the list of things to do was journey to St. Mary's Cathedral. Visiting the cathedral of the host WYD diocese is a normal activity for most every pilgrim. Before I even arrived to the cathedral, I ran into a group from a Portuguese community in Lowell. We had great conversation (and they liked my last name). Inside the Cathedral one of the major attractions was the remains of Pier Giorgio Frassati . He was an interesting man and on his way to sainthood within the Church. You can learn more about him at this site: http://www.frassatiusa.org/


From there I made a much needed trip to Reconciliation to get World Youth Day REALLY started off right. From there I took a trip to the Vocations Expo where I caught up Randy at the Life Teen table where they were doing well. I also stopped by some of the booths put up by the USCCB.


From there it was off to my LAST venue for the day, Barangaroo. It is a HUGE outdoor area which would serve as the site for the opening Mass. I got to meet a whole bunch of people (some of whom you will see in the pictures) and the liturgy was probably the best opening day liturgy I have seen. Following the Mass was a concert and even a fireworks show!!


So here I am. It's almost midnight and I'm EXHAUSTED, so let's just get to the pictures and let them tell the rest of the story for now (in no particular order)

The Altar of St. Mary's Cathedral

The Body of Blessed Pier

Me with the Harbor Bridge in the background

Two new friends from our neighbor to the north (Canada)

Harbor Bridge at Night (You can see the WYD08 logo projected on the pillar)

The Sydney Opera House

The Opera House's Concert Hall

Me and my new friends from Lowell outside St. Mary's

Our Lady of the Southern Cross

This is a sampling of people at Barangaroo for Opening Mass

Cardinal Pell of Sydney Raises the Book of the Gospels

Cardinal Pell goes to receive the gifts for Mass (WYD Icon and Cross to the right)

Me with new friends from Minnesota (don't cha know) and Cali

The CRAZY light/fireworks show at the end of the concert