Arrival in Siedlce

Our day began with a sumptuous breakfast in our hotel, followed by a train ride east to Siedlce, where we'll spend the Days in the Diocese.  We were welcomed at the train station by young Polish volunteers who shared with us funny stories, tips about speaking in Polish, and funny vocabulary.  Even Polish names can be challenging to pronounce, so we, in turn, tried to get them to say "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

Host families met us at the train station, and the rest of our day was filled with performances by local talent and other visiting countries.  In the evening, young people from all around the world came together for prayers, songs, and dances.  Photos with our group and the U.S. flag were in high demand, and we met young people from many different countries, including France, Slovakia, Poland, Belarus, and many others.

Our day ended with a theatrical presentation of the history of Poland and Siedlce.  The theme of Catholicism dominated the performance, which was centered on the mysteries of the rosary: celebrating the joy, sorrow, glory of Poland's past and its hope for the future in the Mysteries of Light.

One of the traditional Polish performances, including song, dance, and authentic dress.

What are some "traditional" American dances??

The history of Poland, in song and dance.

Chris got interviewed!

For live streaming of events:  www.2016jerycho.pl

Day One

                                             Bill and Hayley Falls while we wait for ice cream

Olivia, Heidi and Hayley at our new favorite burger place

Hayley enjoying coffee and a doughnut

The view as we flew into Warsaw

What's John eating now? 

The group outside the castle

Warszawa

We have arrived in Warsaw.  We went straight into some tourism on Wednesday, to get pilgrims on the right sleep cycle.  Many are slow to rise this morning, but at least we are quickly acclimating to a new time zone.

We are amazed at the courage and tenacity of the Polish people.  A people that have refused to be dominated by the many powers that have surrounded them throughout history, and have continuously struggled to be who they truly are...Polish, friendly, generous, and courageous in the face of terrible odds.  Simply, a people of Faith and Hope.

These are some of the sites:

The Royal Castle (a symbol of the Polish people)

The Little Insurgent (commemorates the youngest participants of the Warsaw uprising).  The people of Warsaw have risen up against oppression many times, the images below commemorate the Warsaw Uprising near the end of World War II.  The city was brutally punished by the Nazi forces.

Bundle of Faith, Hope and Love

We depart in five days for our journey through Poland.  We have been collecting prayer requests to pray over and carry along the way.  This little metaphysical bundle of Faith, Hope and Love contains well over a hundred intentions from our Vermont parish communities and artifacts from five different World Youth Day (WYD) pilgrimages.  We will take turns carrying the intentions all the way to the WYD Closing Mass with Pope Francis.

If you would like to add your prayer requests, please email the requests to vtwyd@savevermont.org by 18 July.

All emails will be treated with confidentiality.

Follow us to WYD Krakow...July 2016

World Youth Day (WYD) is the largest gathering of youth in the history of the world!  This summer, 21 pilgrims from Vermont are embarking on this journey.  Join our adventure to Krakow right from your home.

(WYD 2005 through Bavaria, via Wieskirche to Cologne)

In this day, when many things are going wrong and evil seems to be everywhere, WYD is a source from which God’s message of love and works of peace transform lives, the first step in transforming communities and the world.  When one is in a crowd of over a million at WYD, one can actually feel God’s power, working through them and through a million other people in a million different ways.  One can feel the power of a universal church under God.  It is this unity of people across the planet that allows goodness to spread.

So, follow our trials and triumphs through Poland, and don't hesitate to send us your prayer requests.  We'll carry them in our hearts all the way to Krakow.