On July 21st, my friends and I flew from Chicago to Rome. This was the pre-trip to prepare us for World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland.
The first day, when we arrived, we were greeted by Father Patrick, the pastor of our campus Newman Center and a good friend of ours. We later met up with two more friends, Alberto (whom I had recently met on campus) and Marco, who would serve as our guides in Rome.
We went to various historical places and landmarks in the city, including, but not limited to, the Colosseum, the Church of the Gesù, and the Vatican.
As our group would eventually arrive in Krakow, we held Mass in a variety of places. From the catacombs of the early Church to the crypt holding a relic of the True Cross and finally to the tomb of our patron, St. John Paul II.
As our group would eventually arrive in Krakow, we held Mass in a variety of places. From the catacombs of the early Church to the crypt holding a relic of the True Cross and finally to the tomb of our patron, St. John Paul II.
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| St. John Paul II, ora pro nobis! |
We had our fellowship time as well, making way for laughs and smiles during these three days. We had quite the taste of Rome as we ate pizza, pasta, and gelato. Shenanigans included, but were not limited to, messing around in "Mussolini Park" (One of our group tried to make that place "historically significant." You know who you are.) and imitating pterodactyls.
When the time came to depart, we had to say our goodbyes to Marco and Alberto. Loro sono molto bene, and we miss them dearly. Ci vediamo, i miei amici!
This concludes part one of the World Youth Day 2016 story. Part two to come soon.
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