When we set out for Paris we did not know what to expect – but what we experienced we shall never forget. Wherever we went in Paris we met huge numbers of smiling young people full of youth and enthusiasm. They came from every corner of the globe and it was a delight to swap stories with them. On three of the mornings we all assembled to listen to one of the leading Bishops tell us about the faith. Every church of any size in Paris was packed with youngsters, as was the National Exhibition Centre. Our group was in one of the vast halls and there must have been six or seven thousand young people there. At the end of the catechises, and after many questions had been answered, Mass was celebrated and, as I gave Communion, I was almost moved to tears as people of many nations came up .Then a little group came with the ‘Vicarate of Arabia’ written on their identity cards. I thought to myself, my goodness, what these people suffer at home and they have come all this way to listen to the Pope. It was a marvellous experience of the universality of the Church and the life and devotion which exists in a unity of faith all over the world. When we assembled on Thursday afternoon to welcome the Pope in the huge park , which stretches for over half a mile in front of the Eiffel Tower, more than 600,000 young people had assembled. The Pope read out the names of all 160 nations from which people came and their flags were arrayed on a great stand on the podium. He spoke mainly in French but everyone could understand him because there was a simultaneous translation available on various radio stations to which people listened on their transistors. We formed many new friendships both in our own group and with others whom we met.

One day I sat down to lunch with nine other Bishops, not one of whom was from the same country but represented Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. The organisation was equally amazing and everybody was really well fed with picnic meals in the large parks and squares of the city. We were served in groups of six and had a hot meal at lunchtime and a cold one in the evening. When it came to circling Paris with a chain of friendship and peace, we joined hands, often two deep all the way around the 22 miles of perimeter circular road. The whole event took Paris by storm and made the Parisians both courteous and smiling, which we were told was unusual for them! Well over a million assembled for the vigil during which ten people from the five continents were baptised and confirmed, and slept overnight in readiness for the closing Mass which took place, like all other events, in brilliant sunshine. We filled the racecourse as far as the eye could see and our own group was perhaps a mile and a half from the podium, but they could still follow on the radio and see something on huge television screens. We returned home tired but greatly inspired and with the certainty that the Church is very much alive and that our young people are indeed the hope of the world.

. Material Copyright © 1997 THOMAS (Those on the Margins of a Society)
THOMAS is an integral part of Catholic Welfare Societies, Registered Charity number 503102