ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE RELEASE:
Overnight at Copacabana
Overnight at Copacabana
Brendan Lindsay, Kairos, Volume 24 Issue 15
Word spread quickly through Aussie Central, the place of accommodation for most Australians during the World Youth Day (WYD) week in Rio: ‘The Vigil sleep-out was back on!’
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the original venue for the WYD Vigil, sleep-out and final Mass had been changed. The Brazilian WYD committee decided on Copacabana Beach for these important events after the beach had successfully hosted the Opening Mass, Welcome of the Pope and Stations of the Cross earlier in the week.
Initially, with the change of venue, there was to be no sleep-out between the Vigil on Saturday and final Mass on Sunday, but the Brazilian Government decided to support a sleep-out and to allow pilgrims to sleep overnight on the beach.
For our Victorian pilgrimage group this meant an 8am start on Saturday with bags packed ready to begin our walk to Copacabana Beach. With the late change there were many unknowns to what lay ahead for the coming 24 hours.
The initial steps began in the rain. It did not really cross people’s minds that Rio de Janeiro, the city of sun and surf, could experience rain, but for most of WYD week it did.
Heading out in this rain we marched along the main road, Avenida Rio Branco, to join thousands of pilgrims on the road to Copacabana. After a quick stop for breakfast and a small wait for our overnight meal packs, we followed one of our Victorian pilgrims with their huge flag pole and four adjoining flags: the Australian flag, Victorian flag, Vatican flag and Boxing Kangaroo flag.
The sun was out by this stage and it was not long before we were nearing Copacabana. With no designated pilgrim areas and a narrow entrance through one tunnel to the top of the beach, we were getting anxious. What would we find on the other side? Would there be any space left on the beach? Would we find ourselves in a side street with no chance of touching the sand? Would we be able to see the Holy Father drive through on his way to the main altar?
By this time the Victorian group had split in two; the first group powering on to claim our spot, the second group falling away after a long toilet break. Finding myself among the laggers, I marched through the final tunnel.
The chanting and cheering of different nations bounced off the walls of the tunnel as the excitement of arriving at Copacabana Beach intensified. We passed the ‘1km to go’ sign as we walked out of the tunnel and back into the Brazilian sun, which we had anticipated in our preparation for WYD. Hitting a bottleneck of crowds we detoured down a side street and along a parallel road and after a further walk pushed out onto the beach to find our giant four flags swaying in the wind, connected to a sound tower.
The front group had succeeded in securing a space of sand that was next to a sound tower, had a giant screen in front of it and was within a short walk of the toilets. The remainder of our group secured their piece of sand, which would be their sacred space for prayer, Mass, Adoration, meals and sleep. It was a given that all belongings would become overtaken by the soft sand of Copacabana Beach. It was also the first ever vigil that allowed pilgrims the opportunity to go for a swim while participating in a beach-wide flash mob dance as we awaited the arrival of the Holy Father.
It seemed a distant memory thinking of the beginning of that day. Standing in a warehouse looking out at the rain with heavy backpacks in hand and a level of uncertainty of what lay ahead. By the end we were basking in the sun, chatting with pilgrims from Brazil, Chile, America, Italy and many other nations. Our final mission as a Victorian pilgrimage group was complete.
It is estimated that more than 3.5 million pilgrims joined us that night on the beach. What an amazing experience to be able to be part of a prayer vigil and Papal Mass with that many young people.
The challenge now that we pilgrims are home, set by the Holy Father, is to ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’—a task that we will undertake with the new fire lit by our beloved Papa Francisco.
Brendan Lindsay is Director and World Youth Day Coordinator, Archdiocesan Office for Youth.
Photo: Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv. and Brendan Lindsay on Copacabana Beach. Picture courtesy of AOY
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE
Word spread quickly through Aussie Central, the place of accommodation for most Australians during the World Youth Day (WYD) week in Rio: ‘The Vigil sleep-out was back on!’Due to unforeseen circumstances, the original venue for the WYD Vigil, sleep-out and final Mass had been changed. The Brazilian WYD committee decided on Copacabana Beach for these important events after the beach had successfully hosted the Opening Mass, Welcome of the Pope and Stations of the Cross earlier in the week.
Initially, with the change of venue, there was to be no sleep-out between the Vigil on Saturday and final Mass on Sunday, but the Brazilian Government decided to support a sleep-out and to allow pilgrims to sleep overnight on the beach.
For our Victorian pilgrimage group this meant an 8am start on Saturday with bags packed ready to begin our walk to Copacabana Beach. With the late change there were many unknowns to what lay ahead for the coming 24 hours.
The initial steps began in the rain. It did not really cross people’s minds that Rio de Janeiro, the city of sun and surf, could experience rain, but for most of WYD week it did.
Heading out in this rain we marched along the main road, Avenida Rio Branco, to join thousands of pilgrims on the road to Copacabana. After a quick stop for breakfast and a small wait for our overnight meal packs, we followed one of our Victorian pilgrims with their huge flag pole and four adjoining flags: the Australian flag, Victorian flag, Vatican flag and Boxing Kangaroo flag.
The sun was out by this stage and it was not long before we were nearing Copacabana. With no designated pilgrim areas and a narrow entrance through one tunnel to the top of the beach, we were getting anxious. What would we find on the other side? Would there be any space left on the beach? Would we find ourselves in a side street with no chance of touching the sand? Would we be able to see the Holy Father drive through on his way to the main altar?
By this time the Victorian group had split in two; the first group powering on to claim our spot, the second group falling away after a long toilet break. Finding myself among the laggers, I marched through the final tunnel.
The chanting and cheering of different nations bounced off the walls of the tunnel as the excitement of arriving at Copacabana Beach intensified. We passed the ‘1km to go’ sign as we walked out of the tunnel and back into the Brazilian sun, which we had anticipated in our preparation for WYD. Hitting a bottleneck of crowds we detoured down a side street and along a parallel road and after a further walk pushed out onto the beach to find our giant four flags swaying in the wind, connected to a sound tower.
The front group had succeeded in securing a space of sand that was next to a sound tower, had a giant screen in front of it and was within a short walk of the toilets. The remainder of our group secured their piece of sand, which would be their sacred space for prayer, Mass, Adoration, meals and sleep. It was a given that all belongings would become overtaken by the soft sand of Copacabana Beach. It was also the first ever vigil that allowed pilgrims the opportunity to go for a swim while participating in a beach-wide flash mob dance as we awaited the arrival of the Holy Father.
It seemed a distant memory thinking of the beginning of that day. Standing in a warehouse looking out at the rain with heavy backpacks in hand and a level of uncertainty of what lay ahead. By the end we were basking in the sun, chatting with pilgrims from Brazil, Chile, America, Italy and many other nations. Our final mission as a Victorian pilgrimage group was complete.
It is estimated that more than 3.5 million pilgrims joined us that night on the beach. What an amazing experience to be able to be part of a prayer vigil and Papal Mass with that many young people.
The challenge now that we pilgrims are home, set by the Holy Father, is to ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’—a task that we will undertake with the new fire lit by our beloved Papa Francisco.
Brendan Lindsay is Director and World Youth Day Coordinator, Archdiocesan Office for Youth.
Photo: Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv. and Brendan Lindsay on Copacabana Beach. Picture courtesy of AOY
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE
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