WYD has exceeded all expectations

Thanks to the Pope's direct style, the enthusiasm of young people and good organization, World Youth Day (WYD) in the dioceses and in Krakow exceeded all expectations. We could say that this event was one of the most important in the more than 1,000 years of Poland's history. For the first time, a meeting was attended by young people from more than 180 countries.

"Young people-sofa": these words, pronounced by Pope Francis in Italian and Polish, express that the times we are living in today need people who do not confuse happiness with the comfort of a sofa and laziness. Undoubtedly, for many it is easier and more profitable to have deluded young people, who confuse happiness with a couch or a sofa; it is more convenient for them than to have intelligent young people, who want to respond to all the aspirations of the heart. "I ask you: do you want to be sleepy, gawking, dazed young people? Do you want others to decide the future for you? Do you want to be free?"Pope Francis told young people, encouraging them twice to take charge of their own lives and not to retire at the age of 20.

The enthusiasm of faith is a characteristic of WYD. In Krakow it was not easy to hear those speaking in Polish, because the streets were filled with the singing of people from all over the world. Their enthusiasm, smiles and joy were shared by the inhabitants of Krakow, who showed their sense of hospitality by generously welcoming the pilgrims. In the meetings with the Pope we could feel the family atmosphere, and the Holy Father seemed like a grandfather addressing his grandchildren.

The youth praised the organization of WYD. Some participants said that the Campus Misericordiae in Brzegi was the largest and best prepared infrastructure in the history of WYD. They appreciated the efforts of the State and the Church, as well as volunteers, to best accommodate young people from all over the world.

The Bishops of Poland, like the youth, are very grateful to the Holy Father Francis for having chosen Poland, and in particular Krakow for this WYD, which coincided with the celebration of the 1,050th anniversary of the Baptism of Poland and with the Jubilee of Youth, in the Year of Mercy. The farewell Holy Mass was like sending sparks of mercy to the whole world. The young people accepted the challenge with enthusiasm.

There are more and more reports of conversions of young people who have experienced the closeness of God and the transformation of their lives after WYD. The hunger for values has also awakened in many people. It is evident even on the web, where young people want to share the contents of the faith and their spirituality. It is to the credit of Francis, who has once again surprised many. The successor of St. Peter, at almost 80 years of age, has spoken the language of adolescents, using comparisons that were imprinted on the imagination.

Perhaps for the first time in the history of the Church, the expression "hard disk" was heard in the homily of a Pope. The young people, however, understood exactly what the Pope's words expressed: "Trust in God's remembrance: his memory is not a 'hard disk' that records and stores all our data, his memory is a tender heart of compassion, which rejoices by eliminating definitively any vestige of evil." (Campus Misericordiae, July 31, 2016). In the same way, the words spoke to the imagination: "Before Jesus we cannot sit and wait with our arms folded; we cannot respond to him, who gives us life, with a thought or a simple 'little message'.". But it was not only the language with which the Pope spoke to the young people, but also its meaning. The young people felt that they were talking to someone close to them. Returning from Poland, Francis confessed on board the plane that he had spoken to the young people like a grandfather to his grandchildren.

After WYD, the Presidency of the Polish Bishops' Conference underlined: "In recent days the community spirit that our Fatherland so badly needs for its development has once again emerged among our compatriots. The community spirit, extending its roots in the 1,050 years in our history, gave Poles for centuries a strong sense of identity. A community of values, which is above divisions, makes us look to the future of our country with hope."

With hope we await what will happen after WYD Poland, confident that the treasure - in the biblical sense - will not be buried, but multiplied. Now, however, much depends on each one of us.

Paweł Rytel-Andrianik