World Youth Day 2011, is due to be held in Spain and preparations are well underway.The official website now has an English version, which is linked here
On the website's home page, there is a lovely piece about a young man, Carlos, who attended WYD 2002 in Toronto. It was there that he encountered the late Pope John Paul II, and experienced a life changing moment:
"At the beginning of the Prayer Vigil -one of the central ceremonies of WYD- held in Toronto, he decided to get close to the barriers that delimited the course the Pope would follow among the young people. When he arrived at one of the points where the Popemobile would pass, he climbed up the metal structure to await him.
Soon the vehicle appeared at very slow speed due to a maneuver the driver had to make because of the position of the barriers. Impulsively, he cried out: 'Holy Father!' Then the Pope turned to the young man and "gave me a profound look, while blessing me with his hand". "I have no doubt that he dedicated his attention for some seconds to look at me", says Carlos, with the memory that already at that time John Paul II was in ill health.
It was then that an idea came to mind that he had had for some time: the priesthood. "If the Pope has given himself to God up to this point, what am I able to do for God and for the Church?", he wondered. At that moment, "all my excuses were destroyed and in a short time, with the help of a good priest, I began my preparation for the priesthood".
Soon the vehicle appeared at very slow speed due to a maneuver the driver had to make because of the position of the barriers. Impulsively, he cried out: 'Holy Father!' Then the Pope turned to the young man and "gave me a profound look, while blessing me with his hand". "I have no doubt that he dedicated his attention for some seconds to look at me", says Carlos, with the memory that already at that time John Paul II was in ill health.
It was then that an idea came to mind that he had had for some time: the priesthood. "If the Pope has given himself to God up to this point, what am I able to do for God and for the Church?", he wondered. At that moment, "all my excuses were destroyed and in a short time, with the help of a good priest, I began my preparation for the priesthood".
Carlos is now in the Seminary in Barcelona, and in the final year of Theology.
He also has a blog (in Spanish).
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