My friend Irene, who lives in Germany, invited me for a holiday. She was part of a team which organized the program for young people in Hartenfels parish. Hartenfels is a small town about 80 km south of Cologne. I took the opportunity to visit her and other friends and participate in the World Youth Days. I didn't go with ?my group? but I helped to welcome the young people in Hartenfels and after that I participated in many events with the youth in Cologne and also in Dusseldorf, Bonn and Aachen.

The World Youth Days took place from 11 ? 21 August 2005. The first five days were spent in parishes all over Germany and after that, the young pilgrims went to Cologne, Dusseldorf and Bonn. For the parishes it was the great event for which they had been getting ready for throughout the whole year, raising money and preparing the program.

The parish of Hartenfels welcomed 65 young people from Minsk (Byelorussia). Many people came to greet them as they arrived. The atmosphere was nice and friendly as we sang and shared a meal together.  Late in the evening there was a prayer time and after that the parishioners took the young people to their homes.

The next day there were 8 social projects from which we could choose one. There was: 1) visiting a hospital, 2) renovating a playground for children, 3) baking a cake with mentally ill people in their club, 4) activities in an ecumenical house for young people, 5) entertainment for the pensioners of a house for elderly people, 6) work with the Red Cross- collection of old clothes, 7) taking down a Red Cross campsite, 8) cleaning a chapel and a Way of the Cross in a forest. These activities gave us opportunity to get to know each other. I was in Byelorussia once before, 15 years ago. During communism the Church there was persecuted, and there were lots of martyrs. So by the early 90's there were only old people and children in the Church. Now these children are youth and have strong faith.  They are enthusiastic, fresh, and serious about their Christian values. During the evening Mass, we built a construction, as a symbol of our will to build a better, more just world.

The next day was set aside for us to get to know the beauty of the region - Westerwald. We saw a crystal cave, a castle and a museum in Weilburg. In the evening we participated in ?Kirmes? ? a Church fair with a parade, music and lots of beer - one of Germany's traditions.

On Sunday we had lunch together with all the host families and then each person spent time with his or her family.

On Monday the young pilgrims from the whole diocese gathered together in Limburg. After the Eucharist they went to Cologne or Dusseldorf or Bonn. They stayed in these cities for the next week. These three cities were linked by trains which ran every 10 minutes, so we could easily move from place to place. The pilgrims were accommodated in schools, sports halls and tents in campsites. Every day began at 8 a.m. with a morning prayer then at 10 a.m. Catecheses was provided in several languages. In the afternoons there were concerts.

In the afternoons there was also time to visit the great and beautiful gothic Cathedral of Cologne and other romanesque churches with hundreds of saints, of which the best known are St. Ursula and St. Albert the Great. There are also many interesting museums and romantic castles, situated on both sides of the Rhine river.

The high point of the WYD was the Saturday / Sunday vigil prayer and the Holy Mass with the Pope and one million young people from more than 130 countries. Benedict XVI underlined the importance in our Christian life of the Eucharist, the Bible, communities of faith and service to other people.

At the end of the World Youth Days I heard from young people around me: ?I'm so happy! I got to know people from Japan and Israel, we exchanged e-mail addresses.?, "I met people from the Dominican Republic. Where is it??, ?At the night it was very cold, so we played ball to warm ourselves.?, ?I have exchanged a T-shirt with a girl from Italy?... .

The atmosphere was tremendous. Every square and church were filled with youngsters singing and dancing. I think that such event gave the young people an experience of being one human family. It made them more open to other cultures, taught them how to be friends, to build peace, and to pray to God with joy. These days gave all of us experience of being one human, global, integrated world.

This time gave me a taste how it could be in Heaven: people from all over the world, all very friendly, full of joy, praising God.

Brygida Jalowa rscj
Province of Poland