Your trip to World Youth Day will share these two sides. You will meet new people and swap information about your different cultures, churches, youth groups, young adult groups, etc. The more important side will be the shared bond formed through the experience of the pilgrimage. As part of World Youth Day all the pilgrims make their pilgrimage not to the closing mass, but the Cathedral in the town World Youth Day is being held. To go on pilgrimage is to travel to a sacred place with the intent of being changed and finding something of great spiritual significance. I was hoping that I could experience this change in a small way on this trip.
Our day started off by taking the metro to Cuando Viajes which is the metro stop at the site for the closing mass. At this point it is still a functioning airfield so we were not able to get a very good look at it. I would recommend that you start taking daily walks, because for World Youth Day we will not have the luxury of taking the metro, and this site is about 7 miles out from the city center. One of the notable things about this airfield is that it is where John Paul II visited Madrid before his death.
Our day continued by making our rounds of the city looking at the other major gathering points and churches where the events will be held. (On a side note, we will be talking a tour of the city when we arrive in Madrid, and this tour is wonderful for helping you get your bearings in this expansive city.) This is where our pilgrimage truly began.
Spain is a Country deeply rooted in faith, but is flavored strongly by secularism today. For instance, you will see many beautiful and awe inspiring Churches during your stay, but for our experience of the city most of the churches were closed or charging a fee to enter the "museum". When we asked if we could enter the basilica of St. Francis we were told by the guard that we would need to pay 3 euro to enter. We told him we just wanted to pray and he said "well you need to come back for mass then, it is a museum right now." This made my heart ache. This was our experience throughout the city. Our journey was not in vain though.
Upon entering the Cathedral (after paying 1 euro for this privilege), we saw a sight that took our breath away. The soaring ceilings with their intricate patterns, beautiful statues, vibrant murals and numerous side chapels. One sight that almost was lost in the dark (literally, because you had to pay 1 euro to turn the lights on) was a decorated casket. We were not sure who was in this casket, or why it was located right behind the main alter. The mental picture of this relic was tucked away in the back of our minds until we stumbled upon another hidden treasure.
After visiting 2 more churches (which were locked) we found a little museum of San Isidro. This name sounded familiar so we went in. We came to find out that this was the museum of St. Isadore, who was the patron Saint of Madrid. He is also one of the few Married saints (both he and his wife are saints). It was in one of these rooms that we saw a picture of a decorated casket on the wall. The same one we saw in the Cathedral behind the alter! Could it be?? Yes, this was the casket of Saint Isadore! This was exciting because Saint Isadore is also incorrupt (dead, but the body does not decay). We found out from the security guard that his body is not in the casket though, it is on display at another church. The pieces of the puzzle started to come together! We found the Casket, we found the explanation of who's casket this was, but we still couldn't find the body. We made it our mission to find this Church before the end of the day.
Upon finding the old Cathedral, the place where St. Isadore is displayed, we found out that it was now an elementary and middle school. Strange, but not surprising due to the other encounters of the day. Upon inquiring about entering the church to pray, we were told that it was......Closed. This disheartened our group, but upon reflecting, we came to the communal conclusion that we were not here to complete our pilgrimage.
Much like a trailer for a movie, or a teaser for a tv show, this experience gave me the desire to come back to finish what I started as well as share this experience with you. Please continue to pray and discern if the trip to World Youth Day is for you. I have only been here 4 days so far and I am changed. I can't imagine what it will be like sharing this experience with two million other catholics!
Please follow the link below to see pictures of some of the areas of Madrid. I will post some more tomorrow!
Wow Patrick....an amazing day! I am so ready to go!!
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