When Sydney was chosen to host World Youth Day in 2008, both the preparations and week itself sparked a wave of renewal across the church.
Even before half a million pilgrims gathered with Pope Benedict here, the city had begun brimming with possibilities for Catholics to grow in their faith.
Led and supported by Cardinal George Pell, young people suddenly discovered their faith and each other and went on to build up the church together, forming new ministries or revitalising existing ones, including Activ8, a program of events, activities and resources to prepare youth for the event launched by then-Bishop Anthony Fisher OP in 2006.
At the announcement in Quito that Sydney will host the 54th International Eucharistic Congress in 2028, Archbishop Fisher said he expects a similarly “wonderful time” with an outpouring of excitement, renewal and evangelisation before, during and after the event.
Here are some of the WYD08 generation tell how they pray God uses it to raise the next generation of committed faithful.
Natalie Ambrose, University Chaplaincies Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Sydney
The joy and gift of hosting the IEC in 2028 definitely brings to mind the countless fruits we saw from WYD 2008. That was an absolute game changer for us.
It saw young people taking their faith seriously as their own and not just as a hand-me-down faith from their families.
I don’t think we would have as many formation opportunities as we do now in Sydney if it was not for that.
My generation of Catholics were really formed during that time, witnessed many graces and experienced the flourishing of the Sydney church post-WYD 08 and I think the IEC 2028 will be for the younger generations what WYD 08 was for us.
We are all called to mission, to “Go and make disciples.” Sometimes we see this call as someone else’s job and I believe that the IEC will help shift our collective hearts and minds to fall in love with the Eucharist and know that through receiving the sacraments we are given the tools needed to be more missionary in our daily lives.
The greatest hope is that the next generation take advantage of this huge blessing and opportunity. I want this generation who may not know their faith yet, to fall in love and to be set on fire and those who know our Lord to be brought in even closer.
Giovanni Portelli, The Catholic Weekly photographer
WYD Sydney was when I learnt I wasn’t alone as a church-going young Catholic and my social and professional world exploded. It made a huge impact on my faith and changed my life completely.
Before that my Catholic world was my own school and parish. Now here were tens of thousands of young Catholics and even in the lead up to it there was so much to attend.
I went along to an Activ8 event in November of 2007 at St Mary’s Cathedral and a very young Vincent Haber (now faith education officer for the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) was there whose energy and zeal was just electric, he was like an osmosis of happiness.
I’d never seen anything like it before. People were suddenly making these extraordinary connections with other Catholics.
Selina Hasham (now CEO of Harvest Journeys) was working in communications at the archdiocese and came across me through Facebook, so I started being asked to go to these Catholic events and take photos.
It’s not easy for Catholic students in high schools to connect with each other. So for this group who will attend the IEC they will not only breakthrough in their Catholic faith over the next few years but their friendship circles are going to just expand. They’ll discover love, get married, and discern their vocations.
Milad Khalil, Sydney Catholic Youth Team Leader
I would not be the husband and father I am today if it weren’t for the seeds that were planted in me during and after WYD08, because before that my faith in God and the church was waning.
Through the sacramental and prayer life those seeds continue to be watered and I understand the responsibility I now have to offer these opportunities to others.
Large gatherings such as these offer young people excellent immersion experiences into the church, a real and tangible sense of the universal church and inspire them to develop their prayer life.
They also expose people to the diversity of the church through the many religious orders and charisms. Networking opportunities exist which allow for connection and conversation and these large-scale events simply also increase young people’s chances of meeting their future spouse.
I hope and pray that the people of Sydney (churched and unchurched) accept the invitation to attend the IEC, regardless of where that invitation is coming from.
Secondly, I pray that the organisers of the IEC aim to please God and not the participants, to offer the timeless beauty and richness of the church in its fullness, so that participants experience something that is “not of this world.”
Finally, I pray the IEC inspires a return to the understanding, reverence and love for the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
Kristina Keneally, former New South Wales Government spokesperson for WYD08
I met my husband Ben at World Youth Day in 1991 in Poland and attended the event again in 1993 in the United States.
On those occasions I felt a really strong sense of connection with my fellow Catholics and a renewed sense of purpose and commitment to social justice principles and the universality of the church as articulated at Vatican II.
Sydney was a different experience for me—I slept in my ministerial office every night just in case there was a crisis we had to deal with overnight and was up at 4am every morning to go to the day’s media and other organisational briefings.
There was a lot of negativity around prior to World Youth Day that it was somehow going to be this takeover of the city that would be a frustrating experience for people. But once those pilgrims arrived with their joy, their laughter and their faith, they were just tangible signs of hope across the city, and you did see the city transform into a happy place for everyone.
Sydney is a beautiful city and is at its best when it’s hosting a global event, we’re exceptionally good at it. I can only imagine that a gathering like the International Eucharistic Congress will be a tremendous success and I dare say, a blessing for Sydney.
Fr Tony Percy, former Rector of the Good Shepherd Seminary
World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney was an incredible experience and in the years that followed it brought an upsurge in interest in priestly vocations.
I called George Cardinal Pell the week after the event to congratulate him, since he was a main protagonist in bringing it to Sydney.
In his inimitable style, the cardinal said, “It wasn’t a bad old show now was it.”
I was the parish priest of Goulburn at the time. In a moment of madness, I decided to hold an international youth forum for 1800 pilgrims as part of the Days in the Diocese program. It ran the week before World Youth Day 2008.
Mad I was, but this did not prevent all of us having an extraordinary experience of the Holy Spirit.
Blaise Paschal once said there are three kinds of people: Those who have sought God and found him, and they are reasonable and happy people; those who have sought God and have not yet found him, and these are reasonable but unhappy people; and those who have neither sought God nor found him, and these are both unhappy and unreasonable.
World Youth Day 2008 was the sort of experience that allowed people to seek God and to find him.
Perhaps more importantly it was the sort of experience that allowed God to search for people and once again find them.
Fr Lewi Barakat youth representative at WYD08
WYD 08 had a profound impact and the two years leading up to it were especially groundbreaking for the archdiocese with new initiatives to bring young people together for prayer and formation.
It was wonderful to see youth and young adults from all around the world united in their love for Jesus Christ and his church and and with so many joyful clergy and religious present it was a significant turning point for me in becoming open to the call to be a priest.
It was a witness to the joy of the Gospel with the four marks of the church so clearly visible: one in Christ we all united to worship the one true God; holy in our worship together; catholic in the presence of the universal church with faithful from nearly every country represented; apostolic with Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Pell and bishops giving solid and inspiring catechesis.
The rhetoric of an old or dying church was overwhelmed by a life-giving believing community and Eucharistic adoration with hundreds of thousands of people was a taste of heaven on earth.
My hope is that these next years awaken many Catholics to the reality of the life we share in Christ, full of meaning and purpose. A life that bears fruit for all people to enjoy and brings about the salvation of souls.
And I pray many young men will respond to the invitation of Christ to follow him and to become labourers in his harvest.