Naomi Galea, a 19-year-old leader and member of ŻAK Mosta explained her experience of participating in a week of joy, fun, togetherness and spirituality at this year's World Youth Day in Portugal. During this week she met with people from all over the world who went to Lisbon with the same purpose: to share the joy of their faith together. This experience really surprised her, as she described it as a unique journey which only a few get to enjoy - to freely express one's faith openly without any judgements.

During the pilgrimage there were two moments which really struck her the most and which she will forever cherish. The first one was the unguarded, genuine exchange of peace during the opening mass. Seeing people coming from different walks of life embrace each other with a sincerity and joy that surpassed language barriers and cultural differences brought peace to her and a happiness which she could not explain - she can only describe this moment as what she thinks peace really means. The second moment was during a WYD concert. As the singer, Fr Rob Galea, started singing hymns of love and devotion to God, everyone else joined him, shouting their love for Jesus too. This was a rare unfiltered moment as many have to hide how they truly feel about their faith in their everyday lives and to see all these people shouting about their love for God was truly remarkable.

Amid witnessing all that the WYD had to offer, she feels as if this experience helped her rekindle her own faith. It was the boost she didn't know she needed, which, during tough times she will look back to, in order to help her with her faith. During his homily on Sunday, Pope Francis emphasised these three points: shine, listen and do not be afraid. These words truly struck her as they are the path to living freely and joyously through Christ.

Naomi's 17-year-old friend, Luca Muscat, also from ŻAK Mosta, describes the World Youth day as a memorable experience which he will also cherish for the rest of his life. He was frank and told us that he wasn't looking forward to the trip. He was anxious that it was going to be a very long and tedious week. But as the days progressed, he didn't want it to end. He felt as if his connection with God had strengthened, and his mental health was improving. While the main purpose of this pilgrimage was to be more spiritually aware of God's presence, he also made friends with other pilgrims from all over the world with whom he talks to about Christ.

The entire journey made a long-lasting impact on his life, but he believes that The Way of the Cross was his favourite WYD event. This event compared modern issues that many teenagers face in their everyday lives with every station of the cross. Each station discussed a hot issue such as eating disorders, loneliness, suicide, the environment, and many others. A line which he will remember is "What kind of world do we live in God, where you allow people to die of hunger, while others die from overeating?" This question outlines how unjust the world we live in really is and that it is OK to question God. This activity also showed him how the Catholic Church is not stuck in the past but is constantly evolving to meet the needs of society today.

World Youth Day enriched him spirituality, kindled unexpected friendships and evoked a sense of hope inside of him. The Way of the Cross really changed the way he perceives the Church, making him shed a positive light of its reforms and evolution and he witnessed the love for everyone, no matter what their situation in life currently is.

Jamie Farrugia, a 24-year-old leader and member at ŻAK Birżebbuġa, explains how she had always wanted to go to the World Youth Day. She remembers the time she had just started attending ŻAK in 2016 and a number of leaders and members had just returned from the World Youth Day in Krakow. She recalls them mentioning what an amazing and memorable experience it was. A few years later, the World Youth Day took place in Panama and there it was announced that the next one would be in Lisbon. However, as we all know, due to the pandemic everything was postponed and she even questioned herself whether she would get to see Pope Francis in presence. Luckily, the Pope made a short visit to Malta last year but she feels that she was not well prepared for this event and that it went by so quickly that she did not even understand what the presence of the Pope really means. The World Youth Day, she continued to explain, was a completely different story. Apart from the anticipation she had throughout the last year, they had numerous meet-ups, reflections and preparations as a group, and this group spirit continued to strengthen once they arrived in Lisbon.

The first three days were focused on the Catechesis, which are sessions where participants reflect on their journey, their mission and their active contribution in their Catholic organisations in society. Moreover, they reflected on what brought them to that moment and what was their call in the World Youth Day. Jamie describes the experience of welcoming the Pope at Parque Eduardo VII. She understood much more the significance of the Head of the Church passing in front of them. His blessing, his words were accepted with an open heart, together with millions of other young people from around the world, who were all eagerly there in the name of peace and love.

Even though Jamie mentioned she did not make a lot of personal connections that she is used to making in international youth exchanges and training seminars, there were still many moments that she cherises. One moment is when a Brazilian family turned around to hug them, after the Pope had just passed through the crowd. The moments of joy and positive energy where she danced and sang with other young people. The moments of silence when one-and-a-half million young people were on their knees during the adoration at Campo da Graça. She also mentioned that the Pope's words, through his simplicity, touched each and every person's heart.

Jamie admitted that when she originally decided to take part in the World Youth Day she did so because she felt that she needed such an experience to grow in her faith. She felt that her faith, especially due to the pandemic had weakened. However, the WYD had offered her more than she expected. It was a journey that she thought was going to be personal, but it helped her open her eyes to new realities, to the vastness of the Christian community and the thirst young people have for a real and honest connection. Jamie is grateful to have experienced the WYD, she is more grateful to be sharing her experience and hopes to be an inspiration to others to also follow the Pope's teachings, who at the WYD told the young people to listen, shine and not to be afraid.