Blog

I'd like to thank KMOX-AM for their coverage of the World Youth Day events, and especially for the plug for this blog! Fred Bottomer (KMOX's religion editor) called me twice, once during World Youth Day in Cologne, and again after I returned to St. Louis, to record my thoughts on the trip. Life is finally settling back into a normal pattern now, and I think I'm ready for another school year.

I don't know if I'll have much time or events to write about on this blog over the next week or two, so don't expect much. I'm still working on fixing the RSS feed, so it might soon give proper times and dates for blog entries... Please continue to pray for all those returning to school this year, and especially for those students who are leaving their homes for the first time in their lives; that they may live responsibly and live out their faith wherever they go.

I've finally found a few minutes of time to write a concluding blog entry concerning World Youth Day 2005. I will go over a few final thoughts about the pilgrimage, and some interesting information I've learned throughout the trip.

International Travel Tips

This being my first trip outside the U.S., I tried to prepare for the worst in everything, and I think I did a good job. I decided to withdraw 150 euros before leaving, so there would be no hassle in Europe trying to get money; this turned out to be the best way to do things, because many stores and restaurants didn't accept credit cards for purchases under 20 euros because the credit card processing system in Europe is much less efficient than ours in the U.S.

I've posted pictures for days 11-13 on my Seminary Website. I don't yet have time to write a full post with some conclusory remarks, but I hope to do so within a day or two!

Today I was able to take a few up-close pictures of Pope Benedict XVI, and I also was able to touch his hand, along with a few other St. Louis Seminarians. I have posted pictures on my Seminary Website, and I will write a little bit about this experience below.

After an early start on the day, I waited for about eight hours in different lines to enter St. Panteleon Church, to eat lunch, and to get a spot close to where Pope Benedict would be passing by. And it was all worth it—the rain, the sun and the boredom (hey, it's a pilgrimage!). As Pope Benedict passed the group of St. Louis seminarians in the courtyard, I snapped two quick shots (one's a little blurry), and reached out to touch his hand. As an added bonus, Pelé (you know, the soccer player...) walked by earlier that day and I also snapped a couple of pictures of him!

This picture is courtesy of a fellow seminarian, Mike, taken on the evening of August 18, when Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Köln and waved to many thousands of WYD participants from his Mercedes-Benz Popemobile:

I thought it would be good for me to note some of the cultural differences I've noticed between Holland/Germany and the U.S. during my trip so far, if nothing else to try to understand the people in this part of Europe a little better: