Brisbane: Volunteers on hand to help newest pilgrim arrivals

With their journey starting 36 hrs before landing in Australia this morning, one pilgrim group leader from Wyoming was concerned as to how to get her group to a Sunday Mass given that they would be en route to WYD in the air on a Sunday.

Their prayers were answered in Los Angeles airport while on stop over, when the group ran into 60 Puerto Rican pilgrims also enroute to WYD who were accompanied by two Priests.

Both pilgrim groups joined in a multilingual Mass in Spanish and English in a spare airpot departure lounge.

"The energy the Puerto Ricans brought to the Mass was amazing. I'm really looking forward to that universality of the church at WYD," said Brian, a fourth year seminarian Pilgrim from Wyoming, a state in the western region of the United States of America.

Once these first WYD arrivals had landed, despite missed flights and lost luggage they retained a positive WYD pilgrim outlook. 

DAYS IN THE DIOCESE PROGRAMS ABOUT TO START

These pilgrims were the first official pilgrims arriving for the Pre-WYD 'Days in the Diocese' (DiD) program with Wyoming USA and Alberta Canada top of the list in Brisbane.

Up to 5,000 international pilgrims along with approximately 4,000 local young people  are expected to participate in the Brisbane DiD program.

Days in the Diocese is a WYD program facilitating an encounter between young people from around the world and the parishes and people of Australian and New Zealand from July 7 - 14, before they head off to the hosting city for the main WYD encounter. 

Melbourne Diocese, another major DiD location will host the largest number of pilgrims outside of Sydney. The Melbourne Commissioning Mass will be packed out, with all tickets at the 50,000 seat Telstra Dome already being handed out.

The Mass is the occasion for the Melbourne Archdiocese, led by His Grace, Archbishop of Melbourne to commission domestic and international WYD08 pilgrims before their pilgrimage onwards to Sydney.

Extra Melbourne activities that are also taking place during this prelude to WYD period, include eleven Pilgrim locations and over ten other major activities including Tarrawarra Abbey Pilgrimage Visits.

Arriving this morning in Brisbane were a third of the 113 strong Wyoming pilgrimage group who will be participating in Brisbane's DiD program.  

Brisbane's major DiD event will be on Saturday with with the “Heart of the City” event being held at Roma Street Parklands. Event Manager, Isaac Moody, the guiding hand behind Toowoomba’s highly successful Australian Gospel Music Festivals is Event Manager, said, “DiD has a faith link and that’s what’s going to be great, for young people and families to come, be inspired, surprised and caught up in the excitement of this once in a lifetime WYD event.”

Brisbane volunteers: Ready for Days in the Diocese 7-14 July

Related links
DiD08 Melbourne www.did08.com
DiD Brisbane www.wydbrisbane.net.au/hotc