Some media reports called it “the Catholic Woodstock.” Most worried, or perhaps hoped, that they weren’t really motivated by their faith, but by a fun holiday. But rather than gathering from around the world for a week of sex, booze, and drugs, more than two million young people gathered in August for what became the largest religious pilgrimage to Rome in history.

When Pope John Paul II announced in 1994 that the year 2000 would be a special Jubilee Year, and then in Paris in 1997 announced that the next World Youth Day would be held in Rome in the Jubilee Year, youth workers mobilized, preparing to bring teens and young adults to the event of a lifetime.

Rome also mobilized to prepare for the influx of millions of pilgrims. The campus of the University of Rome at Tor Vergata received a $150 million makeover, preparing vast open fields, lightposts, electrical fixtures, a massive altar, numerous large video screens, and emergency services. Organizers also gathered and trained 25,000 volunteers —young people, religious, and clergy—to guide and assist the expected 1.2 million pilgrims. Estimates of the number of pilgrims continually rose throughout the week preceding World Youth Day.

At least 159 countries sent delegations to the meeting, with Italy sending the largest contingent, followed by France (60,000), Poland (40,000), Spain (30,000), and the United States (30,000). Those were preliminary estimates based on pre-registrations, and the actual numbers, nearly impossible to count, undoubtedly were higher.

Before the official opening on August 14, Cardinal James Stafford, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, said the youth streaming into the city were continuing an ancient tradition.

“The young people at World Youth Day 2000 will be among the first ‘Romei’ of the third millennium. They continue an ancient tradition of prayer. In medieval days ‘Romei’ were those who ‘fulfilled a visit to the thresholds of the saints Peter and Paul.’ A Roman pilgrimage is a spiritual adventure,” he said.

Obstacles to pilgrimage
The obstacles to attendance for many of the youths, from the wealthy Western countries, the poorer, developing nations, and countries under repressive governments, were great. A group of young Chinese Catholics which was unable to attend because of government pressures sent a message to their brothers and sisters who were attending.

At the end of July the secretary general of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), Anthony Liu Bainian, said there would be no Chinese delegation at the Youth Jubilee. In their message the mainland young people said they were very sad about this, and they were nevertheless united in spirit with the Pope and in the faith of the Catholic Church, going against all those who want to keep the Church in China separate from the universal Church. Since January, when the CCPA ordained five bishops without the approval of the Holy See, the CCPA has come under growing criticism from many members of the official Church.

The Communist Chinese government requires Christians to worship only in state-controlled associations including the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections to the Vatican or the Pope. Many Catholics worship in illegal, underground churches following only bishops appointed by the Pope.

The Chinese youth said that, while they were disappointed at not being able to attend, they were filled with hope for the future.

Unfortunately once again we young people on mainland China will not be able to share this event with the young Catholics of the rest of the world. This makes us very sad and disappointed.

Nevertheless, the Great Jubilee has given us new hope and light. Filled with this hope, we the youth of China march into the new millennium enlightened by this splendid light. With courage we want to overcome the evils of the past and live our Christian life in the light of our faith.

Despite the exclusion of the mainland youths, 500 pilgrims from Taiwan took part and promised that reports of their participation would reach their brothers and sisters on the continent. Archbishop Ti-kang of Taipei personally accompanied his young people, mostly university students “to help them join in the activities of the universal Church.” He said the pilgrimage would also serve in preparation for evangelization in China.

After World Youth Day had ended, the Fides news service revealed that several dozen Chinese pilgrims had been able to participate despite the government ban. Fides reported that the young Chinese pilgrims circumvented the government ban on travel to Rome, obtaining visas for the purposes of tourism or study and then quietly continuing their travels to include the Vatican.

Other youths in Canada and the US worked in numerous fundraising events and worked extra jobs to raise the thousands of dollars required to travel to and stay in Rome and perhaps to make pilgrimages to other shrines in Europe including Lourdes, Fatima, and Santiago de Compostela. Sixteen-year-old Sara Connor of the small town of Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland, Canada, was typical of most. “I raised my money with things like a goods bingo, a cold plate sale, and donations, and my parents helped out a lot,” she said. Tracey Jean Buss of Rhode Island set up a web site and sold handmade rosaries online.

The theme for World Youth Day 2000, as chosen by the Pope, was the verse from the Gospel of John, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). Monsignor Renato Boccardo, head of the youth section of the Council for the Laity, said this theme rests within the greater theme of the whole Jubilee Year. “Many world religions believe in God, but the Christian religion distinguishes itself for the belief that God became man: Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God,” he said. “This is the heart of the message which the Church has believed and proclaimed for two thousand years, and World Youth Day is a celebration and proclamation of this truth.”

Many youth did not know what to expect from their pilgrimage, most never having made one before or even traveled so far. Lauren Shoda, 17, of Marietta, Georgia, confessed she had been struggling with her faith. “I was not praying a lot, I did not believe in praying the Rosary, or going to Confession, and honestly I was very confused about many things in my faith at that time,” she said.

After the weeklong event, however, things had changed radically for her. Now Lauren says she is enthusiastically Roman Catholic and wants to become a missionary. “I want so badly for other people to experience what I just did. I want people to realize that awesome power of our God and to feel his unending love for us all,” she said.

A papal welcome
On August 15, as he greeted young pilgrims at his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, the Pope referred to Rome as “the capital of the world of youth.”

He made his remarks at a noontime Angelus audience on the feast of the Assumption just a few hours before traveling to Rome for the formal opening of the Youth Day observances.

“You could say that, beginning today and until next Sunday, Rome will be the capital of the world of youth,” the Pope said. His words were broadcast into St. Peter’s Square, where the crowd of young people had already begun to gather in anticipation of the evening’s ceremony. All roads leading to the Vatican had already been blocked off, leaving only a narrow path for the Pope’s own vehicle.

Among the young people who gathered at Castel Gandolfo were 15 people, representing the young people from all over the world, who were the Pope’s personal guests during World Youth Day. The residence at Castel Gandolfo was a temporary home to 3 pilgrims from Italy, 3 from Congo, 3 from Sri Lanka, 3 from Tahiti, and 3 from Canada.

Pope John Paul II officially inaugurated the celebration of World Youth Day by greeting young pilgrims in two separate appearances—first outside the Basilica of St. John Lateran, then in St. Peter’s Square.

“Be not afraid,” the Holy Father told the hundreds of thousands of youngsters, mostly Italian, at St. John Lateran. Repeating the words that he had uttered in the first public appearance of his pontificate, he went on to urge the young people to “open wide the doors to Christ. Open your hearts, your lives, your doubts, your difficulties, your joys and sorrows, to his saving power, and let him enter into your hearts.”

The Pontiff thanked the dioceses of Italy for their work in preparing for the events of World Youth Day and arranging accommodations for the many thousands of young people who were flocking to the Eternal City. He urged the Italian hosts to “make their stay in Rome joyful.” “O happy Rome!” the Pope cried out in a loud voice. “Happy, because you have been consecrated by the witness and the blood of the Apostles Peter and Paul! Happy, because you have preserved that witness and kept it alive, offering it to the world, and in particular now to the world of the rising generation!”

The Pope exchanged a few pleasantries with the crowd at St. John Lateran before entering his Popemobile for the ride across Rome to St. Peter’s Square, where he greeted a second large crowd of young pilgrims. When the crowd began chanting, “Viva il papa,” he replied, with a smile, “The Pope is very much alive!” The crowd in St. Peter’s Square spilled out onto the roads outside the Vatican and all the way to the Tiber River as the Pope arrived there for his second formal greeting. He was greeted in turn by several representatives of the young people in the crowd, each making his remarks to the Pontiff in a different language.

“Young people of the entire world, welcome to Rome!” the Pope said. He then went on to list the 159 countries from which pilgrims had come for World Youth Day—eliciting shouted responses from the young people of each country in turn.

As darkness began to envelop St. Peter’s Square, the Pope asked his young audience a question: “What have you come to seek? Or, better, whom have you come to seek?” Then he responded to his own question: “There can be only one answer. You have come to seek Jesus Christ!” The Pope closed his remarks by urging the young people to model their lives around the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Then he left St. Peter’s Square for a helicopter ride back to his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo where he would remain until he joined the youngsters again for the final events of World Youth Day on Saturday and Sunday at Tor Vergata outside Rome.

Authorities in Rome estimated the crowd in St. Peter’s Square at 350,000. As the Pope left, that enormous crowd dispersed, heading for lodging in and around the city. A similar crowd also left the Basilica of St. John Lateran, where the pilgrims had remained to watch the Pope’s second greeting ceremony on large outdoor video screens.

Organizers had predicted a crowd growing to 1.5 million by August 19, for the climax of the World Youth Day observances.

After the opening ceremonies, organizers began to suspect that their attendance estimates had been too low, revising their numbers upward 30 percent. Last-minute registrations swelled the ranks of young people coming to Rome, and organizers also revealed that many young people were arriving unannounced, without reservations.

As of August 15, all of the 2,741 facilities available for lodging in Rome and the environs had already been filled. Parish secretaries in the Rome diocese were making phone calls throughout the day, seeking new places to house the unexpected guests.

On Wednesday, August 16, the young pilgrims heard the first of some 160 talks and meditations that were scheduled for the week.

Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger of Paris delivered the first catechetical talk, speaking in the Church of St. Ambrose and St. Charles in central Rome. He spoke in French, on the theme “Emmanuel, God with us.” After his talk, Cardinal Lustiger remarked to a reporter that World Youth Day was “a great gift of renewal” for the Church. Remarking on the number of youngsters from France who had come to Rome, he said that this was “a measure of the fruitfulness of World Youth Day in Paris in 1997.”

English-speaking pilgrims gathered in the Olympic Stadium in northeastern Rome to hear Philadelphia’s Cardinal Joseph Bevilacqua speak. “We represent the only religion on earth that puts its faith in a living person,” the American cardinal remarked. Just outside the ancient catacombs, Cardinal Severino Poletto of Turin spoke in Italian, while at another church nearby Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini of Milan did the same.

Young people who suffer from mental disabilities enjoyed their own catechetical talks. Members of l’Arche community, which specializes in the care of the handicapped, hosted the events held in the Paul VI Auditorium, the site of many papal audiences. The program was supervised by Bishop Gerard Daucourt of Orleans, along with Jean Vanier, the founder of l’Arche.

“I won’t be doing much talking myself,” said Bishop Daucourt before the events. “It is these young people who will be doing the catechesis.” He explained that he would ask the youngsters to speak about their own lives, their faith, and their reliance on the sacraments.

“In the Eucharist, it is Christ who gives himself,” the bishop continued. “We do not receive him by virtue of our intelligence. And it is the same thing with the sacrament of Confirmation, in which we receive the Holy Spirit. Everyone has that right.” About 2,000 young people participated in the sessions, which combined talks with simple hymns and prayers.

Meanwhile, thousands of young people began to assemble at the Castel Sant’Angelo to make their individual pilgrimages to St. Peter’s tomb. All week long, the lines stretched over a mile, past the castle into Piazza Cavour. As they waited, the thousands of pilgrims sang songs, prayed aloud, and generally maintained a cheerful demeanor, no mean feat considering the oppressive heat of Rome in August.

Beginning as early as 6 am and following a tight schedule, the young pilgrims walked along the long road to the Vatican, stopping along the way to pray or read passages from the Gospel. In silence—except for the quiet hymns piped in through loudspeakers—they made their way to St. Peter’s Basilica through the Holy Doors. Each young pilgrim carried a “pilgrim’s sack” which had been furnished by the World Youth Day organizers. The small bags contained bottles of water, readings from the Gospel, and explanations of the traditions, symbols, and purposes of the Jubilee celebration. Each bag held identical contents, except that the written material was furnished in different languages, and the bags were color-coded for the different linguistic groups.

The number of young people arriving in Rome for World Youth Day continued to surpass all previous expectations, as organizers reported that 900,000 participants had arrived by August 17—with many more expected before the climactic ceremonies of August 19 and 20. The unexpected crowds took a toll on Rome’s transportation system, especially since the latest arrivals were often being forced to find lodging as far as 80 miles outside Rome. After the opening ceremonies on August 15, there were 34,000 passengers waiting for trains in Rome’s central stations, instead of the 11,000 that had been expected.

Italian police were also pressed into extra service, but there were only a few minor accidents and no significant disturbances. In fact, not one serious crime was reported involving pilgrims in the city during the week. One amused policeman said he only had to answer calls for “disturbing the peace”—that is pilgrims singing at all hours of the day and night. For the most part, the police were busy handling the unprecedented flow of traffic to and from the Vatican and helping foreign visitors to find their way around the Eternal City.

Circus Maximus, where Christians were martyred centuries ago, took on a new role 1,800 years later as the site of penance, conversion, and reception of the Eucharist for thousands of pilgrims. More than 2,000 priests heard the confessions of young pilgrims at the ruins of the circus as thousands of World Youth Day participants heeded the Pope’s call to penance and conversion.

Over 300 white tents serving as temporary confessionals were set up outdoors, and priests heard confessions in 24 different languages, remaining on duty from early in the morning until nearly midnight.

In the Piazza Navona, young people from the Emmanuel Community also witnessed a stream of confessions as churches around that section of the city remained open throughout the day, allowing young visitors to pray in silence or join in hymns, while priests heard confessions in booths along the side walls. In the evening of August 16, members of different charismatic communities gathered in a soccer stadium in northern Rome for an evening of prayer and witness. At least 15,000 young people were on hand to hear the words of several speakers.

Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, the chairman of the central organizing committee for the Jubilee, was delighted with the early developments of World Youth Day, and particularly with the moving talks delivered by young speakers. “Young people have a gift for finding the right words to describe things,” he said. “Like one of them, I’d have to say this is ‘super.’” In the evenings, the city of Rome was transformed as thousands of young people roamed the streets to participate in the hundreds of different forms of entertainment that were organized as a part of the World Youth Day celebration. In addition to the scores of cafes, there were open-air dances and orchestral concerts, dramatic productions and poetry readings. Most of the pilgrims moved from one site to another, exploring the city and meeting with their contemporaries from other countries.

Without visible exception, the groups of pilgrims bubbled over with excitement and joy, despite the hardships of heat, little sleep, and long distances to walk. While most Roman citizens usually escape the city in the middle of August for summer holidays, even more than usual left in anticipation of the large crowds, leaving the streets empty of the famous Roman traffic but filled with pilgrims. Some Romans who did stay told reporters that the only complaint was that the youths were not spending enough money on souvenirs. But the Vatican had consistently warned that these were not ordinary tourists. They were pilgrims—young men and women motivated by a desire for conversion rather than consumption.

Huge crowds force changes
The huge crowds of young people making their Jubilee pilgrimages through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s basilica caused the Vatican to open a second door during the week. It was the first time in the history of the Vatican basilica—since the Holy Door was opened for the first Jubilee in 1450—that an additional door was designated for pilgrims’ entry.

By Friday morning, August 18, at least 250,000 young pilgrims had made their way through the Holy Door in the time since World Youth Day began on Tuesday morning. But despite the best efforts of organizers, the flow of pilgrims soon fell badly behind the pre-arranged schedule. And with a steady stream of pilgrims forming lines from the basilica through St. Peter’s Square and up to one mile away, organizers recognized that the extra entry had to be opened promptly, or thousands of young people would be unable to make their pilgrimages.

And in a concession to the record heat, the strict dress code at St. Peter’s was relaxed, allowing youngsters to enter wearing shorts and sleeveless blouses, which was almost as unprecedented as the opening of a second door. The gentlemen attending the doors continued to look most uncomfortable as the relatively scantily clad youths passed by.

Pope John Paul II received several groups of World Youth Day pilgrims from Egypt, Cuba, and Yugoslavia at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo on Friday, August 18.

The Egyptian pilgrims were Coptic Catholics who came to Rome under the guidance of Patriarch Stephanos II Ghattas of Alexandria. On August 14, the Coptic pilgrims had celebrated their own liturgy in the basilica of St. Mary Major, and the Pope saluted them for their “fidelity to a beautiful heritage passed on through tradition.” He urged the Egyptian Christians to promote understanding with the faithful of other religions in their land.

The Holy Father also recognized a group of Serbian Orthodox pilgrims from the Eparchy of Sabac-Valjevo who came to Rome with their Bishop Laurentije Trifunovic. The Pope sent his greetings to the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle, and acknowledged that the Serbian people have been “sorely tested in recent years.” Again he called upon his visitors to remain faithful to their Christian heritage, while promoting understanding across religious lines.

Finally the Pope, speaking in Spanish, welcomed his guests from Cuba, who were led by Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino of Havana. He recalled his historic visit to Cuba in January 1998, and said that the young Catholics of that land should take the lead in “building up a civilization of love in all areas: families, ecclesial communities, and workplaces.”

Friday evening, Cardinal Camillo Ruini led an estimated 400,000 young people in the Way of the Cross, ending the dramatic observance in the Coliseum by recalling the suffering of Christians in recent years—in Rwanda, Palestine, El Salvador, and Indonesia—at the site where Christians were once put to death by the Roman regime.

On Saturday, August 19, as the pilgrim army descended on Tor Vergata, Cardinal Ruini offered thanks on behalf of the Vatican and the Rome diocese for the cooperation of government authorities. Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi responded with a statement that “Rome is happy to have been conquered” by the young pilgrims.

Suffering and witness
By Saturday evening, most of the pilgrims—then estimated at over two million and perhaps as many as three million—had made their way to Tor Vergata. Many of them had walked several miles from the closest available transportation. As they waited in the sun for up to eight hours, they used their imaginations to find ways to beat the heat. While some, unfortunately, stripped down to inappropriate levels of undress, others came prepared with reflective coverings under which they could take shelter. The organizers had come prepared with huge tanks of drinking water as well as firehoses to cool the crowd, giant misting tunnels, and even a shallow wading pool.

Italian citizens living along the walking route peered out from their homes’ fences and hedges, looking a little bemused at the constant stream of humanity, looking like the whole world going by their homes. Many reached out a helping hand to the pilgrims, offering their home garden hoses to refill drinking water bottles and cool off the walkers. Tommy Boehm, 17, of Annandale, Virginia, reflected that the long, hot walk to Tor Vergata was well worth the effort. “I loved it,” he said. “It was like you were marching for God saying, ‘We love you,’ and showing our love by walking this long, hot journey.”

Sarah Perla, 18, also of Annandale, said: “I will always remember that we sang praise and worship music during all of the ten kilometer hike to Tor Vergata. We met and talked to people from countless countries, and seeing so many Catholics in one place was incredible.”

Celeste Volz, 44, traveled with youth of the Neocatechumenal Way from Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan. She recalled her impressions of the gathering in the field. “There was absolutely no room to walk between people and their sleeping bags,” she said.

We just had to step over or through everyone’s gear. It was fun talking to people from all over the world, and exchanging stories about how they got to World Youth Day, or finding the things that we had in common. The heat was very serious, but the mood of most people was just to accept it. I didn’t hear any complaints.