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World Youth Day
Young adults prepare for trip with walk in Livonia
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published March 14, 2008
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Kristen Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Dozens of young adults made a practice World Youth Day walk across Livonia and back to prepare themselves for the walking and community the World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia will bring. |
Livonia — For a few hours on Sunday, a bit of Australia transported itself smack into southeast Michigan.
A group of young people from various parishes who will be participating in World Youth Day this July in Sydney, Australia, got together for a mini-walk from St. Colette Parish, Livonia, to St. Aidan Parish, also in Livonia. Before they left, they mingled and got to know each other through ice-breaker activities, inspirational songs, and learning a bit about what they would be facing for the main event in Australia.
Laura Piccone-Hanchon, the archdiocese's associate director of youth ministry, and formerly the coordinator of youth ministry at St. Colette for almost 14 years, explained that Sunday's walk and one in November through Ferndale and Royal Oak was "to prepare people for the pilgrimage aspect" of World Youth Day. For youths who can't participate in Australia, a sister event is being held in Sidney, Ohio.
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Kristen Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
The Archdiocese of Detroit's World Youth Day cross, on which youth groups have made their specific mark, was carried during the youths' walk across Livonia. | And although temperatures Sunday were in the 20s, the sun was shining and the youths cheerfully layered on socks, thermal underwear and sweatshirts under their hats and coats. Although the upcoming World Youth Day will be held during Sydney's winter, www.weather.com puts Sydney's average low temperature in July at 47 degrees — unseasonably mild for a Michigan winter day.
Daniel Lehr, a St. Colette Parish young adult who attended World Youth Day in Germany in 2005 and called it a "madhouse," said he enjoyed talking to other people his own age about religion and faith. The group he was a part of toured Rome for the three days beforehand, and he remembers waiting in line for three and a half hours in the scorching heat to see the pope. He said it was worth it.
"I grow more in my faith," he said of the experiences. "I get closer to God. I get to see the pope again, and I travel with kids my own age."
Danny Garrett, also at St. Colette, still keeps in contact with a pen pal friend from Ghana who he met while in Cologne.
"It was so much fun," he said. "I'm learning from them and they're learning from me," he added about the people he meets from around the world.
On the Livonia walk, students also carried the archdiocese's World Youth Day cross, on which other parishes had burned messages and designs into the wood. Piccone-Hanchon said the 5-mile round-trip walk was about what the youths would do on a typical day in Australia. At St. Aidan Parish, students ate lunch and attended Mass, celebrated by Fr. George Williams from St. John Neumann Parish, Canton.
Brian Walker, youth minister at St. Albert the Great Parish, Dearborn Heights, provided guitar music and led the youths in song for a spiritual start to the day.
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Kristen Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Young adults and chaperones from St. Theodore Parish, Westland, include Dave Roose, Amy Roose, Derik Peterman, Justin Leone and Kasia Lisiecki. |
He pointed out to the students that although some may not have come because it was too cold, they took advantage of the opportunity to walk with Christ. He encouraged the youths to open their hearts to Christ every day of their pilgrimage.
Piccone-Hanchon told the students that World Youth Day was about community and looking out for their fellow pilgrims, and encouraged them to make friends with people they meet on the trip. She pointed out that it wouldn't all be fun and games — they'd often be walking without knowing when the next bathroom break or food stop would be, and they'd walk even in the rain. They'll also be sitting on the ground a lot, and probably wouldn't get much quiet time, she said.
Still, that didn't deter the group. Kasia Lisiecki, from St. Theodore, said she was looking forward to many aspects — meeting new people and being in Sydney, as well as "sharing in my faith and seeing the pope," she said.
Justin Leone, also from St. Theodore, said he attended Sunday's mini-walk because "it's good for us to get to know each other as a group," he said. "I'm looking forward to going on the pilgrimage. I've always wanted to do that."
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