After a recent Circle Meeting, Cardiff Circle and wives had as dinner guests Dr. Chineze Ivenso, one of the leaders of World Youth Day, Dr. Kath Wooding, a fundraiser in Wales for WYD and two young men who had attended World Youth Day this year in Portugal.
Attendance at World Youth Day was expensive and our guests were with us partly to thank Cardiff Circle for having agreed to provide funding in support of young Catholics from Wales to go to Portugal to attend, but also to give us some feedback from their experiences.
Freddie Johnson and Ezequiel Moncerate had been among a group of 56 from the Archdiocese of Cardiff and Diocese of Menevia, including Archbishop Mark O’Toole, who travelled to Portugal to be part of this great event. Freddie and Ezequiel gave a fascinating slide show following their experiences in Portugal and eloquently commented on the impact it had on them and the huge number of young Catholics who attended from all around the world.
There was a very full programme starting in Lisbon on 1st June and concluding in Fatima in the presence of Pope Francis. Highlights for Freddie and Ezquiel included the Pope’s Rosary for 200,000 attendees on 5th June and then being part of a crowd of 1.5million at an open air Mass celebrated by His Holiness on 6th June, a spectacular finale to their trip. The boys talked of lasting friendships built up within their travelling party but more so of the impact it had on them to mix with and befriend young Catholics from all around the world and to feel connected through their faith.
These young men and the hard work undertaken in support of young Catholics by Chineze and Kath left us in no doubt that our modest contribution towards their costs had been more than worthwhile.
Freddie & Ezequiel
Chineze, Kath, Freddie & Ezequiel
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