2023-08-01 04:31:55
Lijo K. Johnny
World Youth Day, the world’s largest gathering of young Catholics with the Pope, is being held in Lisbon, Portugal from August 1st to 6th. A World Youth Day in which hundreds of thousands of young people participate in this age of crisis of faith is no small hope for the Church. In 2019, Lijo K. filmed for Shalom World Channel at the World Youth Summit in Panama. Johnny recalls those experiences.
In 2008, following receiving permission from Vatican Television, for the first time, Shalom Television brought the footage of the world’s largest youth gathering to the audience in Kerala. The World Youth Summit was held in Sydney, Australia. My colleagues and I, who were handling the camera at Shalom Television, watched it on TV with great enthusiasm. As he watched with great interest as Papa left Sydney Harbor by boat to address the youth, he simply shared his desire with his colleague Gio Irali. Will we be lucky enough to capture the world’s largest youth gathering for Shalom on camera? Will God give us that opportunity? Those thoughts were…
Time passed… and that dream?
After Sydney, World Youth Day (WYD) was held in Madrid (Spain), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Krakow (Poland). We started to forget the desire that we felt that day…Meanwhile, the Shalom World Channel was launched in the English language in the United States. Shalom World has become a great boon to English language users. In 2019 I went through a lot of physical problems… following a long vacation I started working once more worried regarding being able to work like before. It was during those days that the authorities in Shalom asked him to go to Panama.
I actually cried when I was told that the World Youth Summit is going to be held there in January and that Shalom World is the media partner of the World Youth Summit and to prepare quickly. Not only did God not forget something that I had longed for inside of me, but He also turned that opportunity into an answer to my work-related concerns. That moment passed through the experience of God saying I still need you.
Papa at arm’s length
When we arrived in Panama to capture this visual feast, our old colleague Gio was also in our group. We both thanked God for making our shared dream come true years ago. The papal Mass at that meeting was organized in the Basilica of Santa Maria la Antigua. The place to shoot was found near mothers with their children. When the Holy Father came down from the basilica, he saw the children near us and quickly walked towards them. I mightn’t believe it. Pope Francis came within my reach. Then papa came close to it and blessed me and Shalom’s camera and walked away… what a spirit was on that face. The Panama Youth Summit gave us such indelible memories that we cannot forget until we die.
A greater wonder than the Panama Canal
People speaking different languages, great multitudes of people of many colors, shapes, and sizes…that great gathering in Central America was truly amazing. We were accommodated in a house there. It was the first time they met Indians. But we were very kindly received, entertained and given rooms to stay. What surprised me in the country where the Panama Canal is located, one of the wonders of the world, is the hospitality of its people. The families of the country have really done wonders by opening up all the homes in the country to accommodate young people from different parts of the world.
Park to leave sins
About 30 media ministers from different countries gathered together to prepare scenes for Shalom. Speeches and testimonies of preachers from different countries are held on small and big stages prepared in different places. At some places, performances by artists, dancers and musical bands are staged. The presentations of many talented young people were captured on camera. One of its main attractions was a park named Apology Park.
There I had the good fortune to touch and pray with the image of Our Lady of Fatima brought from Portugal. When he came out, he found the park full of confession booths. There are more than 200 confession booths where many young people take time to confess while waiting for their turn. It was very heartwarming to see hundreds of thousands of young people leaving that park of mercy following acquiring the experience of Christ’s salvation.
Another heart-warming sight was the many thousands of young people sitting in meditation for many hours, adoringly praising God before the Lord of Divine Mercy, who had raised everything on the roads, in the grounds, in the large assembly halls. The youth gathered in Panama returned with great anointing.
Four million young people on the way of the cross
On the fourth day of the youth meeting, it was an amazing sight to see all the youth flocking in the same direction for the Way of the Cross prayer held in the evening. Nearly four hundred thousand people from different countries participated in the Via Sacra in Campo Santa Maria la Antigua, presided over by the Pope. At the 14 Stations depicting Christ’s journey to Calvary, hundreds of thousands of young men and women prayed in unison for suffering people all over the world, an unforgettable experience. The sight of them marching forward in a prayerful atmosphere, singing and praying the way of the cross together in unison, evoked the thought that the future of the church was safe in their hands.
I was lucky enough to see the Pope up close when he arrived for Holy Mass at the Basilica of Santa Maria la Antigua. My task was to capture the Pope as he left the basilica. Due to the traffic block, we reached 3 kms near the Basilica very late. But the soldiers did not let us in because of protocol. However, through the intervention of the Panamanian woman who was with us, we miraculously managed to reach the Basilica. They were a media group from India, and an officer took them in a military vehicle to the Basilica, following the woman’s request to help them see the Pope up close and take pictures.
Another exciting memory is the scenes when Pope Francis entered the stage during the song of the famous band from India called vox christy on the main stage of Metro Park, where more than 10 lakh young people gathered together. It was a heart-warming experience to be able to participate in the Holy Sacrifice offered by the Pope in connection with the closing ceremony. Even today, it seems a miracle that 10 lakh young people participated in the Holy Sacrifice in complete silence.
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