The reality of the one universal Church will come to life this July for myself and 12 other young Arkansans as we travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for World Youth Day. World Youth Day was established by Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1985 in hopes of uniting the youth from all corners of the world in faith. He “imagined the World Youth Days as powerful moment in which the young people of the world could meet Christ, who is eternally young, and could learn from him how to be bearers of the Gospel to other young people”. World Youth Day is celebrated annually at the diocesan level and internationally every two to three years. I, along with Holly Hambuchen, Stormy Prewitt, Allison Young, Father James Melnick, Conway; Tessie Guillory, Zach Long, Ruby Alvarez, Little Rock; Austin Padgett, Greenbrier; Gabby Solis, Fatima Gomez Solis, Estephania Oliva, and Cynthia Solis Plascencia, Danville, am looking forward to making the pilgrimage to Brazil to meet Christ in a unique way alongside millions of our Catholic brothers and sisters.
The highlights of World Youth Day 2013 will include sharing of culture, catechesis, Stations of the Cross, and a pilgrimage to a vigil and closing Mass with our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. We will also be participating in Mission Week. Mission Week is a four day service-oriented event that proceeds World Youth Day. Pilgrimage groups are sent out to various dioceses in the host country to interact with the locals, prepare for World Youth Day, and to give back to the host country. Our group will be stationed in the Diocese of Sao Paulo.
My fellow pilgrimages and I have been preparing for this wonderful opportunity since August through prayer, sacrifice, and fundraising. We have taken the theme for this World Youth Day, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” (Matthew 28:19) to heart. On the journey toward and during World Youth Day we wish to become better disciples of Christ to those in the Diocese of Little Rock and throughout the world. We have even been encouraging all Catholics to read the YouCat, an easy-to-understand version of the Catechism endorsed by Pope Benedict XVI, in hopes of making disciples in our community. We will be praying for you all while we are in Brazil. Please pray for us as we prepare for this journey of a lifetime! For more information, email Emily Rideout at earideout@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page.
