What is World Youth Day?  Good question.  Think of a combination of a retreat, a rock concert, Mass, a camp out (with 1.2 million people), a pilgrimage, and the most uniquely amazing trip you could possibly take.  World Youth Day was conceived by Pope John Paul II to celebrate, challenge, and encourage the young people of the world.  Thus he invited youths and young adults from around the world to gather in Rome in 1984.  Over 300,000 attended that first World Youth Day.  Since its inception in 1984, World Youth Day has gathered people from around the world to join in pilgrimage, prayer, & celebration in even larger numbers.  WYD 2000 in Rome had over 4 million attending and WYD 2005 in Cologne topped 1 million.  Interested yet?  Yes, then keep reading to find out about how you can join in the fun and trek halfway around the world, see the Pope, and maybe change your life.

Pilgrims' Progress - All the information each pilgrim needs to know!

Pilgrim Gatherings:

Translation - meetings!  This section will keep everyone apprised of up-coming meetings and events for all pilgrims.

At this point no meetings for the entire group are scheduled.  Once we have more paperwork you will see more of these meetings in addition to sessions where we will work on communication, community building, and such.

Future Meetings

• Thursday, April 3, 2008
• 7:00 pm meeting in the youth room
• Mandatory for all pilgrims - crucial paperwork for everyone will be handed out & explained; additional trip details including all flight information will be given
• Wednesday, May 28, 2008
• 7:00 to 9:00 pm in the school music room.
• Mandatory for all pilgrims. No parents will be required to be at this meeting.
• Sunday, June 29, 2008
• Mass at 10:30 - all pilgrims are asked to attend with their families the 10:30 am Mass.  A special blessing and sending forth will be given to us by the parish.
• Mandatory meeting - will follow at approximately 11:45 am in the PAC.  A potluck luncheon will be included.  Watch for more details.


Watch this site for future meetings to be scheduled.
 
 

Past Meetings
• Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - This meeting covered a wide variety of basic information in addition to some details on the trip. Here's the information:
• Power Point Presentation -  this pdf file contains the slides from the power point presentation.  It is quite large and offers some photos on some slides from the previous WYDs.
• Handouts:
• Main page of highlights
• Days in the Diocese preliminary information
• October 26, 2006 - The first informational meeting took place in the St. Francis School Music room on Thursday, October 26 at 7:00 pm.  You can access the following handouts and presentation to get the majority of the information
• Power Point Presentation - this is a pdf file so you can see what was presented.  It is rather large and may take a few moments to access.
• Handouts - three pages of handouts
• The registration form and the full color brochure will need to be picked up from Jen or else mailed directly to you.  Please contact Jen for this information.
 


Fundraising:

 
Hire-A-Pilgrim
• Pilgrims are hired for tasks such as yard work, baby-sitting, and more.
• The form pilgrims need to have filled out by the person hiring them is here.
• Make sure all money and forms are returned promptly to Jen for bookkeeping purposes.
Baked Potato Dinner
• When: Sunday, March 18, 2006.  Serving 6:30 - 7:30 pm.
• Volunteers are needed, if you haven't signed up see the response form above
• To print out a black and white flyer click here.
• To print out a color flyer click here.
Candy Bar Sales
• The Candy Bar sale is beginning.  To receive a box of candy to sell, you need to fill out the request form, bring in the form and a check to pay for the box of candy.  For each box sold, $26.00 will be deposited into your fundraising account.


Pilgrim Prayer:

 
This is a trip founded on a spiritual journey.  Accordingly, you are encouraged to pray daily for all the pilgrims, World Youth Day, and other related intentions.

Recommended Immunizations:

• Measles, mumps, rubella (make sure you have had two doses sometime during your life)
• Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (make sure that you were immunized as a child, and if available you have received booster doses)
• Polio (make sure that you were immunized as a child and have received booster doses)
• The current season's influenza vaccine (it will be winter in Australia, we will be surrounded by people, and the vaccine is usually valid for 1 year)
• Meningococcal disease serogroup C (if available)
• Chickenpox (if you never had the infection)

Travel Insurance Information

• What is covered by the insurance
• Registration form
• Cost for those under 25 & chaperones: $105.00.  Checks to be made out to Quest Travel Group and given to Jen no later than 15 February 2008!
• Cost for those 26 & older: TBA

Our Itinerary:

• July 8 & 9: travel to Australia (crossing the International date line)
• July 10-13: Days in the Diocese - Melbourne!
• July 14: Return to Sydney
• July 15: Acclimate to Sydney and opening ceremonies at Olympic Stadium
• July 16-20: WYD activities (TAB)
• July 21: Return to USA

Payment Schedule:

•  Deposit: $200.00—November 15, 2006
•  Payment 2: $600.00—February 1, 2007
•  Payment 3: $600.00—June 1, 2006
•  Payment 4: $600.00—September 1, 2007
•  Payment 5: $ 600.00—December 1, 2007
•  Final Payment: $918.00—February 15, 2008

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

All checks are to be made out to Quest Travel Group.   No checks made to St. Francis will be accepted.

Additional Information