Catechisis, Cultural Visits and Stations of the Cross

Catechisis & Papal Arrival - Thursday

We braved the freezing conditions at the Botanical Gardens to catch a very brief glimpse of the Pope on his boat.

After a short mass and speech from the Pope he drove quickly past us and the thousands of other pilgrims.

Catechisis & Youth Festivities - Wednesday

Catechisis will be at St Peter's in Surry Hills for the next 3 days - today after an hour and a half walk we reached St Peters. Three Hours later we had lunch before setting off to see Fr Stan Fortuna at the Royal Hall of Industries.The Rapping Friar was brilliant - thoroughly entertaining with a really great message for all.

Sydney - Tuesday - Opening Mass

After a busy morning planning our pilgrimage around the various youth festivities we explored Sydney some more before joining the thousands of other pilgrims on their way to Barangaroo for the WYD2008 Opening Mass. The crowd atmosphere was amazing with many singing various chants.
The Opening Mass was truly beautiful and touching.
After a morning of exploring Circular Quay and parts of the CBD we journeyed with the thousands of other Pilgrims to the site of the Opening Mass.

Grand Pacific Drive to Sydney - Monday

Woolongong Harbour

Leaving Woolongong we made our way up the Grand Pacific Drive towards Sydney. A truly beautiful scenic drive with many beautiful spots to stop to play footy and have lunch.

After dropping off our gear we all headed off to explore the city including the Domain, Botanical Gardens and the Sydney Opera House.

After dinner in the city our group made an evening pilgrimage to St Mary's Cathedral for Mass and to contemplate our journey.

Penrose Park, Jamberoo Abbey, Kiama

After the brief visit to Canberra we journeyed onto Penrose Park to visit the Pauline Fathers' Monastery on Fatima Day.

After looking at the various shrines we then continued our pilgrimage to Jamberoo where we visited the Jamberoo Abbey - a Benedictine Enclosed Order which was featured in the ABC TV program The Abbey. We enjoyed an inspirational awe inspiring talk from Sister Hilda in their Chapel.
Kiama was our next stop in our travels where we had free time to explore the town and the Blowhole along the cliffs. Followed by a quick trip to Woollongong where we are staying.

Canberra!!!

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After a freezing cold night, we headed off to the major sites around Canberra. First stop was Old Parliament House where we had a look at the Aboriginal Embassy and then had a guided tour of Old Parliament with some role playing in the House of Representatives. We narrowly missed meeting Kevin Rudd - PM but managed to get some great photos of his car along with an even greater story about the car from our bus driver, Juliano.
We ventured onto New Parliament House where we were given a guided tour. The next on our must go to sites was the Australian War Memorial where all the boys were keen to see some weapons and pay their respects.

In our quest to find a Mass to attend, we discovered the Canberra Days in the Diocese Festivities and Mass where there was a crowd of 15,000 Pilgrims from all over the World.