BLOG: vigil
The final days of World Youth Day Rio were an exercise is letting God surprise us all. Days of rain made the field at Guaratiba unusable and the final events were moved to Copacabana Beach. Cariocas (residents of Rio) are used to having parties on the beach. They have two giant parties there every year: ...read more
Alicia gives us the basics about today’s walking route that will take pilgrims from downtown Madrid to Cuatro Vientos Air Base for the prayer vigil and closing Mass with Pope Benedict XVI. ...read more
World Youth Day in Madrid ends this weekend with a giant celebration. The setting for it all is Cuatro Vientos, an air base whose length is equivalent to 48 football fields–an area capable of hosting the over one million people expected to attend the events with the Holy Father. Fr. Javier Cremades, in charge of ...read more
Madrid in August is hot, hot, hot. We’re talking two-showers-a-day hot. However, most pilgrims will be housed in group accommodation venues which means either a school gym, a community centre, or a parish hall.  All spaces can sleep a large group, but don’t normally house young people for a full week. These accommodation venues have been outfitted ...read more
In an Easter Vigil liturgy that included six readings, Pope Benedict chose to focus on the first one. In explaining the selection of the reading from the first chapter of Genesis, the Pope asks, “Is it really important to speak also of creation during the Easter Vigil? Could we not begin with the events in ...read more
On Saturday November 27th the Vatican is uniting with Churches and religious communities around the world to pray for lives that are about to begin. Pope Benedict XVI will preside over the first Vespers of Advent at St. Peter’s Basilica. He will then hold a prayer vigil for nascent life. Salt + Light will bring ...read more