Alex Castro, Carlos Melocoton, Ricky Montanez

Like the first World Youth Day I attended in the Philippines in 1995, the recently concluded World Youth Day held in Germany was an opportunity to experience the vitality and universality of the church at its best. The Church is indeed young and alive in those who participated in the XX WYD. It was an occasion to renew one’s commitment to the church and most especially an opportunity for the young people to deepen their faith in God through the activities of the event and their encounter with other young Catholics from around the world.

Brother Ricky with Romanian Brothers

This meeting also proved to be a warm welcome for Pope Benedict XVI who was enthusiastically greeted by the young crowd with cheers and chants in his contact with them. His predecessor, John Paul II obviously still has the affection of the youth as manifested by the applause heard each time his name was mentioned by the new Pope in his speeches. Seeing Benedict XVI doing things with little difficulty and hearing him speak clearly and vigorously was also a welcome change. The church’s universality was not only seen in the faces of the young people who were there but also in Pope Benedict’s effort to connect with those present by speaking their languages.

Brother Ricky Montanez, A.A.