austraLasia #2195



WYD International Salesian Youth Festival, Melbourne

MELBOURNE: 11th July 2008 -- It is mid-winter in Melbourne, but that did not succeed in dampening the spirit of hundreds of young people gathered at Salesian College Chadstone for the Salesian part of the WYD 'Days in the Diocese' celebrations in that city.
    The Rector Major had left Ascot Vale soon after breakfast, on the north side of the city to arrive at Chadstone on the east side (Melbourne, with some 3 million population is geographically one of the larger cities of the world, given the Australian penchant for space - but good freeways help move people across the city). He was immediately swept up in the great spirit of celebration that had been building since registration opened at 7 am.
    The first formal gathering was in the College Hall where there was an opening reflection including a 'Welcome to the Land' lead by an Aboriginal Australian. Images of the Australian landscape were projected whilst arresting tones of the didgeridoo filled the hall and focused attention on prayerful praise and thanks for the gift of life and the blessings of the 'Great South Land of the Holy Spirit' as it was termed on discovery. A total of 29 nations were represented.
    Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez SDB of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, was welcomed around 10.30 am with a warm round of singing and cheering.  In his talk and Q.A session the Cardinal encouraged his young listeners to be open to the Spirit and to (1) be a friend of Jesus, (2) be people of prayer (3) be missionaries carrying the Good News of Jesus to the world.
    The lunch break was a time of festive cultural presentations. Each national group presented a cultural item of dance and song and the friendships across nations became infectious. It was an experience of an 'international oratory' that would have delighted Don Bosco.
    As rain began to fall the crowd gathered once again in the College Hall for a meditation on the Stations of the Cross during which the Rector Major lead the gathering in prayer. He then addressed the gathering affirming everyone in the spirit of celebration and exhorting the young people to find deep roots in their friendship with Jesus so as to be courageous in carrying His love to the young people of the world.  "You are the Lord's disciples; you are the missionaries who must witness to the love of Christ today", he told them. He then extended a concluding blessing, to carry them on to the commissioning mass and the WYD08 in Sydney.
    The gathering erupted in song at the conclusion before beginning to gather into groups to go off in pilgrimage to the Testra Dome in Melbourne for the Commissioning Mass.
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Title: australasia 2195
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces AUL WYD
Date (year): 2008
ID: 2000-2099|2195