Special to The Sun

In my last weekly column in The Toronto Sun, I would simply like to share with you some of the thousands of messages we have received on a daily basis since World Youth Day 2002. The thousands of messages have come from many parts of Canada and every corner of the world, reminding us that what transpired in Canada during the last two weeks of July has had a deep and lasting effect on millions of people.

Over the past week, most of the messages I have received begin with: “Dear Fr. Rosica, I am not a Catholic but I write to you to let you know the impact World Youth Day has had upon me, my family, my friends, my colleagues … We have not stopped talking about it.” For those throughout Canada, and especially in Toronto, who had the opportunity of hosting the young pilgrims, there has been nothing but words of profuse gratitude. A woman from Peterborough wrote: “My grandchildren don’t come to visit me any longer but during World Youth Day I took in six young people in my house. They made me young again. I loved them and cried when they left.”

A streetcar driver wrote that he was on vacation the week of July 23 in Toronto, but insisted on going to work every day “just to catch the spirit that was alive on the TTC.” “Bring those young people back again, Father Tom, They were a blessing to all of us.”

One of the senior RCMP officers assigned to the project for the last two years wrote to me: “Many RCMP officers who worked on WYD 2002 told me that it was the highlight of their careers to work on this event and in many cases to meet the Holy Father. They were very proud, as I was, when Pope John Paul mentioned the work of the police in his address at the Sunday mass. … On a personal note, as a Protestant, I made sure during the year that I was involved in planning for the event, to study the history and significance of the Roman Catholic Church. I came away from the experience with a deep appreciation of the faith and of the work being done by the countless priests, bishops and members of the church. The church is alive and well and prospering.”

Week of great hope
An American Sister from New York State, who brought with her many disabled young people, wrote to our department for the disabled: “This was a week of great hope and holiness in the church … The warm welcome when we arrived at the airport … the welcome of every police officer on the streets … the help at the metro and bus lines … the well organized meals … the beautiful liturgies … Our hearts were so filled it was hard to keep them contained within the body, and it was hard to keep the body on the ground. … These days we were truly able to touch the face of God in so many!”

Countless people have written to commend the various police agencies that worked on the event. One woman summed up hundreds of voices: “Never have I been to an event where the police officers were so kind and helpful. They treated us with respect and I was amazed at how they went out of their way to help the young people who became overwhelmed by the weather. They also did a fine job at managing such a huge crowd . Please extend our thanks to the various Canadian agencies who helped make our trip so memorable. I hope to return to Toronto and many other parts of Canada soon!”

In the midst of so many positive things, we are painfully aware that an accident with sewage removal has caused destruction and much pain to owners of several businesses near Downsview Park. Some companies have lost their merchandise, properties have been ruined, and many good people have experienced pain, frustration and loss. On behalf of all of us at World Youth Day, I offer our sincere regret about this unfortunate accident, and promise that we are working together with all parties and insurance companies involved in this difficult situation.

I encourage you to prolong the wonderful memories of World Youth Day 2002 with two excellent publications. The first is the World Youth Day 2002 Souvenir Album to be published by Novalis in Ottawa and will be available in October. This album, with 400 photos, chronicles the event and is priced at $29.95.

The second publication is the commemorative album Reflections of His Light, a handsome coffee-table book that chronicles the announcement made in Rome August 2000, the WYD Cross ceremony on Palm Sunday 2001 at the Vatican, the journey of the cross throughout Canada, the July 2002 event, ending with the departure of Pope John Paul on July 29. The principal photographer is renowned Canadian photo journalist, Boris Spremo, who has captured every nuance and emotion of World Youth Day. The book will be available in December at $100 per copy. Contact Monique Laurin at 416 807-7580 or e-mail commemorativealbum@sympatico.ca.

For the past seven months, The Toronto Sun has allowed me to have this column appear in their Sunday newspaper. I am grateful to the many people who took the time to write to me over the past seven months, to those who signed up as pilgrim hosts or volunteers, or to those who have made donations to World Youth Day 2002. On behalf of World Youth Day 2002 and the Catholic Church in Canada, I offer deepest thanks to Len Fortune and all our friends at The Toronto Sun.

Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B., was National Director and Chief
Executive Officer of World Youth Day 2002

Special to The Sun

This past week I had the privilege of addressing the 120th International Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Anaheim, Calif., expressing to the assembly of several thousand delegates the deep gratitude felt by of all of us at World Youth Day for the invaluable assistance they provided to us over the past three years.

The Knights, together with the Catholic Women’s League of Canada, are two excellent, dedicated groups of Catholic laity whose work is often unsung and unrecognized. Today I would like to shed some light on both groups and speak of their invaluable contribution to World Youth Day 2002 across Canada.

First, a word about the Catholic Women’s League (commonly called the CWL). This group was founded in 1920 to gather Catholic women together for spiritual development, to promote the teachings of the Church, to exemplify the Christian ideal in home and family life, to protect the sanctity of human life, to enhance the role of women in church and society, and to recognize the dignity of all people everywhere.

Many of us simply know the CWL as the stalwart women of any Catholic parish who tend to many material aspects of parish life. I have had the privilege of working closely with them for nearly 20 years and have come to appreciate their incredible leadership and service to the Church in hundreds of ways. They don’t only bake cookies and set up for social receptions! Last August I was privileged to address the CWL national convention in Calgary and invite them to sponsor the printing of the liturgical prayer books essential for every WYD pilgrim and participant.

The CWL kept its promise and donated more than $200,000 to cover the cost of these booklets that have now gone out to every corner of the globe with the young pilgrims. In addition to their financial contribution, CWL members assisted across the country with the reception of the World Youth Day cross in every diocese, providing hospitality, prayerful celebrations and wise leadership.

When it came time to host tens of thousands of young pilgrims in the Days in the Diocese part of World Youth Day 2002, hundreds of CWL members opened their homes and provided hospitality, often coordinating large groups of young people in their sojourns in so many parts of Canada prior to WYD in Toronto.

Now that the pilgrims have returned to their home countries, we have heard from hundreds of them, especially about the genuine hospitality they experienced from their hosts across the country.

Tons of gratitude

On behalf of all the young people, and all of us at the national office of World Youth Day, I express express tons of gratitude to the CWL for their key role in our mega event! As they gather at their national convention in Moncton this week, I would like each of them to know of the esteem and admiration of the young people of the world and the entire Canadian Church.

The spirit of World Youth Day was certainly present in Anaheim this past week as the Knights of Columbus gave World Youth Day great prominence at their convention. This well-known group of Catholic men was founded in                                                                                                    1882 by a 28-year-old parish priest, Fr. Michael J. McGivney, in the basement of a church in New Haven, Conn.

1.6 million members
Today more than a century later, it is the largest lay organization in the Catholic Church, numbering 1.6 million men in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Guatemala and Guam. This important lay order of the K of C has assisted popes, presidents and government leaders in establishing public policy, maintaining Christian values in complex situations, and embodying the best qualities of charity, leadership, devotion, patriotism and family life.

Thanks to the Knights of Columbus, and their international leader, Carl Anderson, WYD 2002 received a $1-million donation that allowed us to transform Coronation Park into Duc in Altum Park, where tens of thousands of confessions were heard by more than 1,000 priests from around the world. The K of C contribution helped us with the printed materials necessary for promoting the sacrament of reconciliation, as well as the highly successful Vocation Pavilion set up at Exhibition Place.

It was no wonder then that the hundreds of Knights rose to their feet in applause when I told them this past week in Anaheim that their generosity and leadership made World Youth Day such a success in Canada. The outstanding television coverage of World Youth Day 2002 throughout the world helped millions of people to feel part of this great event. Hundreds are now writing to let us know of the great hope, joy and promise of peace they found in this event.

We all know that an event of such a great magnitude has a price attached to it — and we do have a shortfall. But I am also confident that the Canadian people are generous and unafraid to invest in our young people, who are the hope of the present and the future.

For this reason we turn to the public to assist us with financial donations to help us cover the expenses of this great event that has touched our country and our world. Any support you can give us is much appreciated.

Here is how you can help us: Call 1-888-559-9930, starting tomorrow, to make a donation by credit card. Or mail a cheque to World Youth Day 2002, 415 Yonge St., 9th floor, Toronto, M5B 2E7, or make a deposit at any branch of Scotiabank to the World Youth Day 2002 account. Let us follow the example of the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Women’s League in supporting World Youth Day 2002.

Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B., was National Director and Chief Executive Officer of World Youth Day 2002

 Special to The Sun

Over the past week the World Youth Day National Office has been inundated with calls, letters, messages, e-mails, gifts from every corner of the globe, and from every part of this great city.

Let us try to examine what happened at World Youth Day that captivated the hearts and imaginations of millions of people throughout the world. How can we explain that the accredited journalists and media outlets for this event numbered close to 4,000 people? To what do we attribute the extraordinarily positive media coverage of this international gathering in every corner of the earth?

If indeed the registered delegates for WYD 2002 numbered slightly over 200,000 young people from 173 countries of the world, where did the all the other people come from? Who were the more than 350,000 at the welcoming ceremony for the Pope at Exhibition Place on July 25, the more than 500,000 people crowding University Avenue and Queen’s Park for the moving stations of the cross on Friday evening, July 26? At the evening vigil on Saturday, July 27, police estimated more than 600,000 people were in attendance. And the icing on the WYD cake came on Sunday morning, July 28, with well over 800,000 people attending the papal mass.

On July 22, the caravans of young people converged upon Toronto. The youngsters were housed with families, in schools, arenas, camp grounds and some in hotels.

The youths came to Toronto on pilgrimages, responding to the invitation of the Successor of Peter, an 82-year-old infirm Pope who is for so many of them a source of inspiration, fatherhood, friendship, and peace. But this time I heard many of the young delegates saying clearly that “this man was the closest person to Jesus Christ that they had ever met.”

On Tuesday, July 23, Pope John Paul arrived in Canada, and for the first time in a nearly 25-year pontificate, took a four-day holiday on Strawberry Island, in Lake Simcoe. His welcoming ceremony at Pearson International Airport set the tone for the entire week. The Holy Father told the audience that “The young people from all parts of the world … gathering for the World Youth Day bear the marks of a humanity that too often does not know peace, or justice. Too many lives begin and end without joy, without hope.

The great cause of peace
That is one of the principal reasons for the World Youth Day. Young people are coming together to commit themselves, in the strength of their faith in Jesus Christ, to the great cause of peace and human solidarity.”

What we experienced over the next six days was exactly what the Pope announced in his words of welcome: World Youth Day had come to Canada to bring us hope and joy, to teach us about commitment to Jesus Christ, to strengthen our faith, and to encourage peace and solidarity among all participants. The real miracle of World Youth Day is that it overflows into the city, the province, the country, into society and the world.

Pope John Paul told me how much he appreciated the welcoming ceremony, at Exhibition Place on July 25. High atop the stage, an old man looked out over a crowd too numerous to count, and had tears in his eyes, as he witnessed his “joy and his crown,” the young people who are clearly at the heart of this pontificate. And Pope John Paul invited them “to be the people of the Beatitudes.” He cried out in a loud voice: “Blessed are you if, like Jesus, you are poor in spirit, good and merciful; if you really seek what is just and right; if you are pure of heart, peacemakers, lovers of the poor and their servants. Blessed are you!”

On Friday evening, majestic University Ave., with its courthouses, government buildings hospitals, university buildings, parliament, and museums was suddenly transformed into a Via Dolorosa, with over half a million people praying, most of them on their knees. It was stunning, magnificent, and instructive. Toronto, the powerful financial capital that it is, got much more than they bargained for with this World Youth Day. And as we walked and prayed the Via Crucis in downtown Toronto, Pope John Paul watched it on television from Strawberry Island. He was so moved by the presentation that at his departure from Pearson airport on Monday, the last young people he greeted were the “cast” of the stations of the cross, especially the young people who played the roles of Jesus, Mary and Mary Magdalene.

Pope John Paul presided
Saturday and Sunday brought hundreds of thousands of young people and so many others to Downsview Park. The former military base and airfield were transformed into a huge outdoor cathedral. Here Pope John Paul presided over the Saturday vigil and the Sunday final mass.

If there is one dominant image in my mind and heart of the whole experience, it is as though for those 10 days in July, Canada and Toronto had become a huge canvass in the workshop of God, and that the Creator himself painted wide brushstrokes of extraordinary goodness and kindness across our country and our city. And we will never be the same because of this event.

It will take this lifetime and the next to properly thank all of those people in Toronto who opened their doors, their hearts, their minds to welcome this great gift. If you were one of those people, know of the deepest gratitude of hundreds of thousands of young people who have returned to their own countries to tell the good news of what they experienced and the people they met. And know of the profound gratitude of the church, and of the National World Youth Day Office.

Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B., was National Director and Chief Executive Officer of World Youth Day 2002

Special to Sun Media

There are “electric” moments in life … when all seems to stop and we fix our gaze on some event, some happening, some image, some person in a strange sense of admiration and awe. One such moment happened last Tuesday on a splendid, sun-drenched day as an Alitalia plane came to a halt on the runway of Pearson International Airport. I was in a line headed by Prime Minister Jean Chretien and leaders of government of all levels, followed by officials of the Canadian church. The eyes of about 500 people in the huge hangar were fixed on the plane. Silence had come over the entire assembly as we waited for the Pontiff to be lowered to the ground in a specially fitted lift.

To our astonishment, the lift was not used. Pope John Paul appeared at the door of the aircraft and began a slow descent of the stairs. The eyes of the world were fixed on this elderly man, and every step was carefully measured. Then the roar of the crowd was heard inside the terminal and all across this country. John Paul did it again! The Pope of the great surprises, the pastor, the shepherd, the courageous leader, entered into this most representative assembly of the nation and the church in Canada, gathered for the formal welcoming ceremony.

All throughout the preparation process for World Youth Day 2002, I was never concerned about a no-show of the Pope at our event. I have never experienced anything quite like the airport welcome ceremony. The joy that radiated from event and that has since has permeated Toronto was clear sign to me that God is with us in a powerful way in the person of John Paul. When Monsignor Renato Boccardo, the Pope’s chief of protocol, invited me to present to the Pope 30 young people from Canada, several of whom were seriously ill, there were tears of joy on the faces of nearly everyone in the hangar.

I noticed that there were few dry eyes in the huge media pool that was present at the airport. Last Tuesday was truly a moment of grace and blessing for Canada. And those blessings have increased throughout the past week.

The genius of Pope John Paul was clearly evident in his granting World Youth Day to Canada this summer. Canada and Toronto need World Youth Day to wake us up, infuse us with joy, remind us of our gifts and qualities of hospitality, tolerance and peacemaking that have characterized this nation. But Canada also needed World Youth Day to call us back to our deeply Christian origins in this country. It is only when a nation and a society reclaim their original identity that they can ever hope to become authentically multicultural, tolerant, and open to others.

In the streets of Toronto we have witnessed rivers of joy flowing abundantly as young people from 175 countries make their way to over 130 catechetical sites. Cardinals, bishops, priests and sisters made themselves at home in our great city and the image of the church that has been presented through the media speaks of life, youthfulness and joy. One night this past week, I visited all of the television media booths at the immense press centre set up at Exhibition Place to accommodate the 3,800-plus accredited journalists to the event just to say thank you” for telling the WYD story in a magnificent way.

When I walked into one of the major American TV network offices, those present burst into applause. One senior woman producer blurted out: “This is one of the most beautiful stories we have ever covered. Thanks for helping to arrange it.”

Even the most cynical among us cannot help but be moved by the streams of young people who have expressed their joy at being Catholic Christians in a complex and shadow-filled world. All of this has not been a show, nor a protest or photo opportunity staged by some big marketing company hired by the Catholic church to restore its image in the light of scandals and difficulties. The World Youth Day is a gift from God given to Canada and Toronto — to wake us up and remind us that we are called to be happy and to be peacemakers in a troubled world.

And north of Toronto, on Strawberry Island in beautiful Lake Simcoe, there has been tremendous joy as Peter’s successor found rest and relaxation, energy and peace at the summer residence of the Basilian Fathers, my own congregation. The Pope spent a very restful week on the Island, and managed to make so many others happy, especially the residents of the Huronia Regional Centre who were out in paddle boats when his boat went by. On Friday, along with Archbishop Anthony Meagher, I took 14 young people from 12 different countries to the Island to lunch with the Pontiff. Many have nicknamed Lake Simcoe “the Holy Sea” this past week.

The great irony of all of this incredible story is the fact that the catalyst of the whole adventure of World Youth Day is an old man, a warrior, a fighter, a shepherd and courageous leader who has come to Canada to help us rediscover our own youthfulness, hope and joy. His presence among us has brought a few tears, hundreds of thousands of hearts that have been deeply touched, and lives that will be forever changed.

I will never be able to visit Exhibition Place again without hearing the songs and laughter, seeing the crowds and the flags. Nor will I ever walk up University Ave. without envisioning the thousands of people on their knees on the Way of the Cross. Downsview Park and the Bombardier airstrip will remain for me one of the biggest cathedrals in the world … and Strawberry Island and Morrow Park will have a glow around them for the rest of their days.

All of this because an old man haltingly descended the stairs of a plane in Toronto on July 23, 2002 and kicked off World Youth Day 2002. He came among us to embrace the youth of the world who had responded his invitation to “Come, and tell the world of the happiness you have found in meeting Jesus Christ, of your desire to know him better, of how you are committed to proclaiming the Gospel of salvation to the ends of the earth!”

Special to The Sun

I will never forget a very hot day in mid-August 2000, sitting on the Via Conciliazione in Rome with Mayor Mel Lastman and his wife, Marilyn. Both held small battery-operated fans, and were trying to remain cool in 40C weather. Tears were streaming down their faces, in part because of the oppressive heat and in part due to the extraordinary scene taking place before our eyes. More than 500,000 young people were streaming down this historic street toward St. Peter’s Basilica in order to walk through the Holy Door.

Music accompanied the pilgrimage and firefighters from Rome were spraying a fine mist into air to cool the pilgrims. Mayor Lastman turned to me and said that Toronto had to experience this incredible goodness and beauty, and that he would do everything in his power to make it happen in 2002.

After two long years of planning for World Youth Day 2002, Lastman was true to his word and the event is now unfolding before our eyes.

Many of the streets of Toronto are filled with groups of young people who are among more than 200,000 delegates or “pilgrims” from more than 170 countries. World Youth Day is also drawing to Toronto 550 cardinals and bishops from around the world. Many of them will lead the teaching sessions held on three mornings of this week in more than 130 different locations. Toronto will shine in ways that it has never done before on the international stage. At press time, 3,800 print, television and electronic journalists have been accredited to this event.

City made for WYD

I have always felt that Toronto is a city made for World Youth Day. Just looking at the nationalities, races, cultures, colours and accents of the people who live here makes me do a double take — it seems like World Youth Day has been taking place here for years.

The City of Toronto played a pivotal role to bring World Youth Day to Toronto. When the idea was first suggested that Toronto host this international celebration, city council rallied its support behind World Youth Day and devoted valuable resources to assist in preparing the document demonstrating why Toronto is a suitable city to host World Youth Day. Council endorsed the bid in 1998. The board of governors at Exhibition Place followed suit and committed the venue even before Toronto was announced as host city.

Many city services, departments and agencies have done a superb job in helping us prepare for this event. The Toronto Police Service are among the many city agencies that have embraced World Youth Day from the very beginning. Chief Julian Fantino and Insp. Larry Sinclair, head of the WYD Joint Police Task Force have inspired the entire World Youth Day staff by their dedication to this world class project.

The outstanding cooperation of Rick Ducharme and all at the TTC has enabled the young pilgrims to move from one event to another on a first-class transportation system. World Youth Day would not be possible without the cooperation we have received from Toronto.

Granite cairn

A lasting legacy of World Youth Day is the inukshuk structure that has been built in Battery Park along the lake to commemorate the event. It will be formally inaugurated on tomorrow morning by Mayor Lastman and many dignitaries. The 28-foot granite inukshuk, designed by Kellypalik Qimirpik, will commemorate World Youth Day 2002 and the papal visit.

Inukshuks are cairns often built in the shape of a human being (in Inuktitut, language of the Inuit, inukshuk). Such sculptures dot the Arctic landscape and serve as navigational guides for people travelling through one of the worlds most desolate landscapes.

The World Youth Day 2002 held in Toronto, a city known from its origins to be “the meeting place,” invites young people to be salt of the earth and light of the world. This monument is a reminder of the immense, wonderful gathering of young people and Pope John Paul held in Toronto on the shores of Lake Ontario from July 23-28.

Thanks, Mayor Lastman and your staff and hundreds of assistants. You were faithful to your words in Rome two years ago.

Special to The Sun

Early one morning this past week on my walk down Yonge St. to work, a well-dressed businesswoman came out of a coffee shop and stopped me as I was walking by. She said she noticed my roman collar (priest’s black shirt) and felt compelled to say something to a priest.

I didn’t know what to expect and she simply said to me: “Thanks to you and your church for bringing this World Youth Day to our city. I don’t know if you have anything to do with it, Father, but we need World Youth Day very badly.”  When I asked her why, she answered: “Because we need a good dose of joy in the midst of so much sadness.”

I didn’t tell her what my job was and continued down the street to our national office.  ”A good dose of joy in the midst of so much sadness …” I repeated to myself several times. That woman knew something about the power of World Youth Day. More than traffic disruptions and street closures, more than long lineups for meals and water, World Youth Day is ultimately about joy and generosity.

The great catalyst for World Youth Day in Canada was the 12-ft high plain wooden cross that was entrusted to young Canadian Catholics in St. Peter’s Square, on Palm Sunday 2001. Over the past year, that cross has visited all 72 Catholic dioceses in the country, logging over 42,000 km by air (prop and jet), road, boat, snowmobile, foot and even dogsled.

West to Whitehorse

The cross went as far west as Whitehorse (Yukon); as far east as Signal Hill, in St. John’s (Newfoundland); and as far north as Inuvik (Northwest Territories), which is at the 67th parallel. The cross visited more than 350 cities, towns and villages, and even took a detour outside Canada at the end of February to travel to Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. The young people of the world began arriving in Canada for World Youth Day last week. Many of them are taking part in the Days in the Dioceses component from July 17-21, visiting 35 of Canada’s 72 dioceses.

When all 200,000-plus pilgrims converge on Toronto July 22, there will be about 35,000 pilgrims in 14,000 homes, 118,000 pilgrims housed in 260-plus schools; tens of thousands more staying in hotels, with their families and friends, their religious communities and other alternative arrangements.

World Youth Day will officially open the afternoon of July 23, with a Mass at Exhibition Place presided over by Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, Archbishop of Toronto. The welcoming ceremony with the Pope is scheduled for July 25, at Exhibition Place.

Youth Festival

On the afternoons of July 24, 25 and 26, young people will be able to visit Coronation Park, christened “Duc in Altum Park” for the occasion. Confessionals will be installed in the park and priests will be available for confession in various languages. One area of the park will be reserved for eucharistic adoration. There will also be the Youth Festival, which will include artistic, cultural and spiritual events.

The Youth Festival involves 3,000 participamts from 35 countries. There will be 173 groups participating at 320 performances on 10 stages along with Downsview and five Toronto parks. In addition there will be 30 seminars, 10 prayer experiences, 300 vocational or service group exhibits and 10 cultural gatherings.

Some young pilgrims may wish to take part in the social service dimension of assisting 60 participating agencies that serve the poor, the elderly, the homeless and several people who are dying.

When World Youth Day is long gone, the memory of 300,000 hours of volunteer service will linger in this city.

On Friday, July 26, the Way of the Cross will take place in several areas of Toronto. The main procession will depart from City Hall at 7:30 p.m. and will cross the city centre along University Ave. This impressive ceremony is open to the public and will be shown live on CBC television.

The other events open to the public are: the Papal Welcome Ceremony, July 25; and the concluding Mass with the Pope, July 28.