World Youth Days (Young Adults)

Description: This past summer of 2008, I attended World Youth Day (WYD) in Sydney, Australia. It was not my first WYD attendance…and it will not be my last as I plan on being there in Madrid, Spain during the summer of 2011. For those unfamiliar, WYD is a multinational event for youth and young adults ages 18-35. That being said, many people a little younger…and a little older than this (as guides or for their own spiritual growth) attend frequently. World youth day was started in the 1980s by Pope John Paul II and is Catholic-Christian focused. The youth gather from around the world in a host city, such as Sydney, and spend a week participating in liturgical and catechetical oriented events and celebrations. Optionally, young adults can also spend a week before “WYD proper” living with a host family and immersing themselves in a totally different culture. The culmination of WYD involves making a pilgrimage to a Cathedral in the host city and participating in an overnight vigil that is followed my morning mass given by the Pope.

Summary of Heft: Heft looks at the life of young adults in his text. He seems to have a good grasp of what they are experiencing by asking themselves various life questions…such as “What am I going to do with my life?” When he speaks on this, he refers to those in their undergraduate years, but I would suggest that those young adults beyond undergrad age still ask themselves “versions” of that same question. These young adults are spiritually hungry, and many “do not believe that organized religion is the only way to access the Divine” (p. 105). As Heft goes on to state, “they do not want to confine or compartmentalize the spiritual dimensions of the lives to congregations or to specific times and places” (p. 105).

Heft has an ending section on discussing Young Adults (YAs) called “Lessons Learned” (pp. 119-122) in which he offers the following: a) “YAs want to feel that their presence is valued”; b) “YAs want a sense of ownership in their congregations”; c) “YAs’ interests in religion are multifaceted”; d) YAs thrive when they are ‘met where they are’”; e) “YAs welcome opportunities to feel emotionally affected”; f)”YAs respond to a theoretical and practical balance between the particular and universal”.

My experience is that World Youth Days dives head first into addressing Hefts "Lessons Learned". I think Pope John Paul II understood the youth, and wanted them to be more greatly involved in their faith. The continuation of World Youth Days beyond his death is a testament that the collective Catholic Church also feels the same in regards to young adults. There is nothing like being a part of a crowd of a million+, all from different cultures, speaking different languages, coming together in a universally understood faith experience that occurs every 3 years at World Youth Day. I strongly recommend this as something to consider in forming those in their later-teens, 20s, and 30s. So…IF YOU HAVEN’T GONE….MAKE TIME TO GO! --And, I'll see you in Madrid!