Reflections on World Youth Day

Alisha Hafner of the St. Jude of the Lake Council in Mahtomedi, Minn. said, “World Youth Day was simply AMAZING! Words cannot describe how I felt from the enthusiasm of all the pilgrims around me. It was such a moving experience to see so many young people gathered together for the same reason.”

“The most valuable lesson I learned at World Youth Day was to just take a step back from everything going on and remember the reason I was there… It was so easy to get caught up in the excitement of everyone that sometimes I forgot the reason for everyone's excitement. Being in such a beautiful place, such as Sydney, added so much to World Youth Day, while at the same time sometimes distracted pilgrims from the message of World Youth Day. Overall, World Youth Day was a spiritual growing experience for every pilgrim present.” - Alisha Hafner

Here is a photo Alisha submitted of her group. This is the Saint Helena WYD Group, Minneapolis, Minn.

Alisha Hafner and her tour guide, Simon.