Anticipation grows for pilgrims going to World Youth Day

July 19, 2023

On July 25, 57 pilgrims bound for World Youth Day in Portugal will leave the Des Moines airport for a life-changing experience.

The young adults will see the universality of the Catholic Church while also experiencing various cultures that make up the Church. 

Doh Noh saw a microcosm of that in Des Moines.

The 19-year-old parishioner of St. Ambrose Cathedral and other young adults from her parish volunteered at Principal Park and held a cultural food day at her parish to raise funds for the trip.

“It brought all of our cultures together,” she said. “It made me think on an international level all of the Catholics around the world who will come together.”

St. John Paul II began World Youth Day with a gathering in Rome that was expected to draw 60,000 pilgrims, though 250,000 arrived. Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have continued to gather young adults to accompany them on a worldwide level, to encourage their openness and hopes, hear concerns and requests, and pass on the truth and love that is Christ.

The Iowa pilgrims are leaving early so they can spend several days in the Diocese of Lieria-Fatima to stay with local Catholic families, experience their culture, sight-see and visit the site of the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. Then they go to Lisbon for the international gathering, where they’ll hear speakers and celebrate Mass with Pope Francis.

For Des Moines seminarian Stan Asjes, there are three reasons why he wants to go.

One, it’s a unique opportunity to have a truly universal experience of the Church. 

Two, a unique fellowship can be experienced.

“I think we will learn a lot from each other as a group, and I also hope to be an authentic witness to what it means to say ‘yes’ and follow one’s vocation,” he said.

Three, the pilgrimage offers an opportunity to deepen one’s spiritual life by encountering God in a new way.

“The spirituality of pilgrimage, which involves a commitment to prayer and poverty, is something which is often forgotten in the contemporary life of the Church,” Asjes said. 

No matter how much one prepares, there will be discomforts and things that might not go as expected when hundreds of thousands of people come together.

“It’s a pilgrimage, not a vacation,” said organizer Justin White, diocesan director of Young Adult Evangelization.

Perhaps the first challenge was just getting documentation. About half of the pilgrims are from St. Ambrose Cathedral and some of the parishioners, who are refugees or immigrants, did not have the documentation they needed. About seven or eight drove to the Portuguese embassy in Washington, D.C. for personal interviews to complete their paperwork.

Noh and her friend Dah Meh are from the Karenni ethnic group along the Thailand/Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) border. They marvel at having come from Thailand to the United States and now preparing for a trip to Portugal.

“I’m really excited,” Noh said. “I want to get a lot out of it, especially because I’ll be away from home. I want to make memories that I can share with my parents because they won’t be able to go with me.”

She sees World Youth Day as an evangelization opportunity and can’t wait to be in the presence of Pope Francis, who will celebrate Mass for the young adults.

Meh also is looking forward to experiencing cultures from around the world.

“It’s extremely awesome! We worked really hard to be able to come this far and we’re almost there. We have to continue to thrive, commemorating and sharing our faith. Our faith at St. Ambrose is evident no matter how close or far we are from the parish.”

What Noh learned even before stepping on the plane was that a faith community that works together can make what might seem impossible possible. Parishioners helped her file for a passport and for U.S. citizenship and assisted with fundraising. 

“It was an experience I had with my community and it brought us closer,” she said.