Host to the largest Maltese community abroad, Australia will also be host of the

2008 World Youth Day. The event will be an exciting experience not only for Australia and its Maltese community, but especially for the young Maltese pilgrims who will be going on a

three-week journey with the Archbishop. At a recent reception, they took the time to share their thoughts with Mariane St-Maurice.

In a couple weeks, thousands of young people will be walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to spend the night on a race course. Of those, over 100 will be from different cities around Malta, there to experience the 2008 World Youth Day.

The tradition of World Youth Day started in 1986, when Pope John Paul II invited young people from around the world to meet every two to three years in a different location to celebrate their faith through a few days of spiritual activities and fun. This year, the event will be held in Sydney, Australia, from 5 July to 20 July, the last day being the culmination of it all when the Pope Benedict will celebrate mass at the race course, in front of an expected 500,000 people.

“Sunday Mass will take place on a race course because no other places were big enough,” said Jurek Juszczyk, the High Commissioner for Australia in Malta. “The logistics were a huge challenge.” Mr Juszczyk explained that the organization of this event, which is the biggest Australia has ever hosted, began three years ago, as soon as the Pope announced that Sydney would be the next host city. Efforts were put in from the federal and state governments, he said, as well as local governments who dealt with the many traffic disruptions.

Organizing an event of this magnitude also involved getting major sponsors, keeping in mind simple but crucial things such as food for the pilgrims. In fact, about 3.5 million meals will be served, including 2.5 million bread rolls and 2.7 million cakes.

But all the organization will be worth the efforts when the 125,000 registered pilgrims from around the world arrive in Australia to join the 100,000 Australian pilgrims for the six-day event, and participate together in the activities.

The Maltese pilgrims, around 45 of which are going with the Diocesan group, are evidently very excited. “It’s my first time going to Australia and going to World Youth Day,” said Stefano Ellul, 21, at a recent reception hosted by Mr Juszczyk. “I’m a bit shaky at the moment!”

Many of the pilgrims were sponsored by their parishes, which means that they were nominated to have their airfare paid for by the government. There are others, however, who simply decided to go. “When the pope announced that Australia was hosting, I said ‘I’ll be there.’ It just happened,’” remembered Clare Zammit, 26. “I saw so many young people on fire for their faith and I said ‘I want to be there. I want to be part of it.’”

Her friend, Suzanna Bezzina, attended the last WYD in Cologne, Germany, in 2005. “I was there with two Australian friends when the Pope announced it, and I’ve been preparing for it since then.”

Of the thousands of international pilgrims, most will be staying in convents or with host families, mostly of their respective countries of origin, explained Mr Juszczyk. The Maltese pilgrims, for example, will all be staying with Maltese families who live in Australia.

“In Sydney, we’ll be residing with different families both weeks, because there were so many families who wanted to host us,” said Father Savio Vella, SDB, who is the Archbishop’s delegate for young people. Fr Vella has been working on organizing the Maltese group for the past two years, and will be going to Australia with them.

In addition to attending the WYD festivities, the Maltese pilgrims will be going around Australia for a total of three weeks with the Archbishop and four other members of the clergy, visiting various Maltese communities around the country.

According to Mr Juszczyk, they will be beginning the tour in Melbourne, followed by a visit to Australia’s first Maltese-born bishop in Bendigo, and head to Adelaide before going to Sydney for WYD. After, they will go to Brisbon and finally Mackay, where there is a sugar cane plant for which people of Maltese descent are responsible.

Mr Juszczyk also explained that Australia is home to the largest Maltese community abroad, all of whom have done very well and are dedicated to maintaining their customs and traditions. “They keep the Maltese language, have Maltese schools, have organized welfare groups, etc.” he said.

“It’s going to be strange, living with a Maltese family in a different country,” said Olen Terribile, 21, who signed up for WYD with his friend Brendon Vella. Nevertheless, Mr Terribile is looking forward to the trip: “Apart from being a World Youth Day, it’s a World Youth Day down under. It’s a once in a lifetime experience.”

Because of the uniqueness of their trip, Mr Juszczyk wants the pilgrims to make the most of it: “They should take the opportunity to do more, to learn about Australia and explore all the things it has to offer.”

However, most of the pilgrims are looking for a spiritual journey, and not just another trip. Mr Ellul, who works for a financial company, said he needs “a good boost; I need a spiritual recharge at the moment. I had my exams, my thesis, I started work about four months ago… basically I lost a bit of track.”

Andrew Cauchi, 43, is also going with the group and, being a musician, is in charge of the animation. But unlike the other pilgrims, Mr Cauchi will be going with his entire family: his wife and three teenage daughters. “As a family, we’re looking at it as a pilgrimage, an opportunity to get closer to God and to get to know other youths,” he explained. He then continued: “We’re going there as ambassadors for the Maltese population, and then taking that experience and bringing it back home to share with the rest of the Maltese.”

Fr Vella is also looking beyond WYD, at what will follow in terms of bringing the experience back home. “The theme itself, ‘You will receive the power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses,’ is inviting young people to go out and be witnesses to the Gospel,” he said. “We’re expecting that this group will bring with it from Australia the enrichment from meeting various other groups from around the world, and try to encourage the young people in Malta to embark on a journey for the next World Youth Day.”

Mr Juszczyk also recognises that World Youth Day 2008 will have a powerful effect, but that its impact remains to be seen. “WYD will send a powerful spiritual message that is appropriate for this day and age. There is the issue all over the world that there is a fall-off of attendance in the Catholic Church: there aren’t as many active followers,” he said. “This is an opportunity to inspire people to return to the Church and the faith, to revive the Catholic Church in Australia.”

And with excited pilgrims coming from all continents to see, hear and pray with the Holy Father, their experiences are sure to reach every corner of the world.