Benedict XVI Prayed With Young People in Cracow Błonia
Benedict XVI photo W. Łączyński/FotoKAI
The vigil of prayer started several hours prior to the Pope’s arrival and will last until 2 am the following day. The meeting with Benedict XVI was slightly longer than scheduled.
Benedict XVI arrived at Błonia around 6.30 pm. He came in the Popemobile from the Wawel Cathedral. The young people clapped their hands and cheered "Benedetto, Dio te ha eletto" (Benedict, God has chosen you).
The Pope sat on a special podium, with the face of Merciful Christ over his chair. The back wall was decorated with green young twigs and there were bouquets of flowers everywhere. The side walls of the podium were covered with canvas with the motif of a blue if slightly overcast sky. On the podium there were around 400 members of joint choirs. The vigil of prayer prior to the arrival and after the departure of the Pope was led by the famous musician Jan Pospieszalski.
In attendance were representatives of the Government with Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, Speaker of the Diet Marek Jurek, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Roman Giertych.
Over the meadow there were papal, Polish, German, Ukrainian, Spanish, and Italian flags. There were also banners with names of towns and student chaplaincies and inscriptions "We love you!" – the slogan repeatedly chanted by the young pilgrims. The youth waved kerchiefs and balloons in papal colours.
"Bless all the young and us, young with the youth of the spirit," Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz asked Benedict XVI, welcoming him at the beginning of the encounter. The Metropolitan of Cracow stressed that young people came here "since they want to construct their future on Peter the Rock."
Referring to the song sung at the beginning of the encounter "Do not be afraid! Open the door to Christ!" he assured that the lyrics contain the program of life.
In turn representatives of young people asked the Pope to be their guide in seeking out the paths of Christ. They thanked the Holy Father for accepting the invitation. "Like all young people throughout centuries, we too face the question of the youth from the Gospel: what are we to do to find eternal life? We ask you to help us read anew the answer given by Christ, to enkindle in us the courage, perseverance, and joy arising from the faith," said young people.
The schedule of the meeting in Błonia was drawn up by the youth themselves. They performed a three-part oratorio showing problems of today’s youth. It was composed of music, prayers, and short films. In the first part of the oratorio the young people gathered in Błonia could watch on the big screens there a short film on drug addicts who break their addiction and start to serve the needy.
Everyday problems of young people, such as acute forms of the generation gap, a lack of time for themselves and each other, or the petering away of interpersonal relations were the subject matter of the second part of the oratorio.
A prayer followed recited by the Stocki family, who thanked with their six children for God’s aid over families. The petitions of thanksgiving included a petition of gratitude for John Paul II, who helped young people to live beautifully. The youngest daughter of the family finished the prayer crying out: "I love you, Lord Jesus"! At the end Benedict XVI blessed the whole family and drew them to his heart.
The third part of the oratorio in Błonia, a short film, talked about a young mother who decided to give birth to her child in spite of being left alone. The girl is now a resident of a Home for Single Mothers and tells everyone that even though she has two kids she would like to take her final exam in high school. If she could turn back the hands of time she would know that she had decided on sex life too rashly.
After the film a lawyer from one of the biggest law offices in Poland prayed for constructing public life on a genuine foundation which is only Christ. He also asked God for an indication that it is worthwhile to be a saint man in everyday life.
In his address, repeatedly interrupted with applause and chanting of "Benedetto!" and "Thank you!", the Pope encouraged the young people to construct the houses of their lives on the rock which is Christ. He underlined that also today Jesus happens to be ignored, ridiculed, and "declared a king of the past who is not for today and certainly not for tomorrow. He is relegated to a storeroom of questions and persons one dare not mention publicly in a loud voice." He appealed at the same time to young people not to be disheartened. "A strong faith must endure tests," noted the Holy Father.
The Pope addressed the youth with the same words that John Paul II would often use: "Dear Young Friends." He devoted his speech to an account from the Gospel according to Matthew about a house which will never collapse since it is built upon a rock.
Benedict XVI said that in each man, especially in a young person, there is the desire for a house, one to which he can not only return with joy, but where every guest who arrives can be joyfully welcomed and "for a house where the daily bread is love." The Pope stressed that this yearning is simply a longing for a full, happy and successful life and encouraged the youth not to be afraid of this desire. "Do not be discouraged at the sight of crumbling houses, frustrated desires and faded longings," he urged.
After the speech the youth long shouted "Tu est Petrus" and sang the hymn of the World Youth Days in Toronto, and then of the Youth Days in Częstochowa in 1991, "Abba Ojcze!". The Pope joined the singing of the young people. The youth chanted alternately: "Dio bene ha detto!" and "Dio te ha eletto" (God has spoken well – God has chosen you)
The Pope blessed the cornerstone of the John Paul II Centre "Do not be afraid!". The foundation stone was made of roughly hewn black Swedish granite.
The Holy Father blessed the young who brought a few stones to be the foundation of the Centre. Each participant of the meeting was to bring a stone with his name and the name of his or her hometown inscribed on it. These stones will be part of the building of the Centre of the Teaching of John Paul II, whose construction will commence immediately after the Pope’s visit.
Benedict XVI received as a gift a book with over 30,000 declarations on the abstention from drugs. The text of each declarations reads: "I do not take drugs, I am free from drugs." The book had a white cover.
At the end the Holy Father lit his candle from the Paschal candle and the flame from his candle was passed on to the other participants of the meeting. Hundreds of thousands of lights flickered in Błonia.
The Pope was leaving Błonia to the accompaniment of the song "Do not be afraid!" performed by the joint choirs and the shouts of young people "Stay with us!" and "Come to us!"
A half hour break will follow the departure of the Pope. The organisers expect most of the young people to stay in Błonia. There is a special pastoral programme for them until 2 at night, with the Holy Mass celebrated at around 10 pm. Many of the participants will spend the night in Błonia and will take part in the Holy Mass with Benedict XVI.
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