On Friday we began the day with prayer, and by sharing with our young pilgrims the letters that their families wrote before the trip.
We then headed to a local church for Youth Festival events with the JPII Project – we knew the church only held 900 so we arrived early to make sure we’d get inside. We kept the energy up though – for ourselves and those around us!
The program began with Eucharistic Adoration led by Archbishop Samual Aquila of Denver –
Adoration was followed by two speakers:
CHRIS STEFANICK
Chris is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and television host who has devoted his life to inspiring people to live a bold, contagious faith. Recipient of the Papal Benemerenti Medal, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput calls Chris “one of the most engaging defenders of the Christian faith on the scene today.”
JASON EVERET
Jason Evert is a best-selling author of more than 15 books, including Saint John Paul the Great, How to Find Your Soulmate without Losing Your Soul, and the curriculum YOU: Life, Love, and the Theology of the Body.
After the talks, a few of our pilgrims got to say hi to Jason Evert!
The rest of Friday was low-key as Saturday will be the biggest day of pilgrimage – an 8:00am Mass with Cardinal Sean and the other groups from Boston (and our group was asked to provide the music!) followed by the 9km walk to the site of the overnight Vigil and Missioning Mass on Sunday morning.
The next post will likely not be until Sunday evening when we’re back at the hotel, but we’ll share pics on Instagram if we’re able to access the internet. Please keep us in your prayers – you will be in ours as we pray with the Holy Father!