Joshua Kapika of St. Michael Church in Waialua holds up the special shirt that Hawaii pilgrims will be wearing to World Youth Day events in Brazil, July 23-28.
By the time you read this, about two dozen pilgrims from Hawaii will be on their way to one of the biggest Catholic events of the year.
Their bags are packed with passports, city maps, practical Portuguese phrase booklets, Brazilian currency, rosaries and prayer books. It’s a modest survival kit for World Youth Day July 23-28 in Rio de Janeiro.
The name of the Vatican-organized event for young Catholics is a misnomer. The “Day” is actually an intense, almost weeklong faith-building experience. For five days, our Island pilgrims will merge in Brazil with hundreds of thousands of faithful from more than a dozen countries. The city of Rio will become a festive hub of catechesis, fellowship, concerts and liturgies. Pope Francis will join the celebration on his first trip back to his home continent of South America since being elected pontiff.
The excitement for the trip was palpable at the final planning meeting in Honolulu for pilgrims, July 7. Several of the young adults on the diocesan tour told the Hawaii Catholic Herald why they signed up, and what they are most looking forward to.
For Anvie Andam of Ewa Beach, her first World Youth Day will be an opportunity for “spiritual nourishment.” She said she is eager to “meet new people” and get to know her fellow Island pilgrims.
Rhea Quemado of Resurrection of the Lord said she hopes to “deepen my relationship with God and my passion for this faith.” Any knowledge and inspiration she comes away with in Rio, she said, will be paid forward to “inspire others” to attend World Youth Day in the future.
Joshua Kapika of St. Michael will be making his third Youth Day. He “enjoyed the last two experiences” in Australia and Madrid, in 2008 and 2011 respectively. This year will be extra special, Kapika said, because he is really looking forward to seeing Pope Francis.
Joeleny Isidro, a parishioner from Our Lady of Perpetual Help, said the trip is a way for her to connect with God, and hopes it will help “reveal my vocation.”
“It’s an answer to prayer,” she said.
Forty U.S. bishops, including Hawaii’s Bishop Larry Silva, are expected to be there. There are 7,336 U.S. pilgrims from 468 different groups anticipated to attend.
World Youth Day is an exciting opportunity for local Catholics. The Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry has been working hard for months to coordinate the official World Youth Day pilgrimage group for the Diocese of Honolulu.
According to Lisa Gomes, director of the youth and young adult office, 15 young adults (age 18-39) and six adults (age 40 and older) are set to go to Rio. These pilgrims represent nine parishes: Resurrection of the Lord in Waipio; St. Ann, Kaneohe; Immaculate Conception, Ewa; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Ewa Beach; Our Lady of Sorrows, Wahiawa; St. Michael, Waialua; St. John Apostle and Evangelist, Mililani; St. Mary in Hana, Maui; and St. Theresa, Kihei.
Bishop Silva and Benedictine Sister Celeste “CC” Cabral will be leading this contingent.
Joining them in Brazil will be two other Island residents, Ann Oberhoffer and Ryan Malloy, who are traveling through their own arrangements. Parishioners from Our Lady of Good Counsel in Pearl City have also organized a separate World Youth Day tour. Gomes said a Hawaii Neocatechumenal group, a Catholic lay organization, is planning to attend as well.
Travel company EF Tours has prepared a cool itinerary for the diocesan pilgrimage. The group is scheduled to depart Honolulu on July 20, and will fly on a route through Phoenix, Ariz., and Charlotte, N.C., before arriving at Rio de Janeiro International Airport on the morning of July 21.
On July 22, the pilgrims are in for a guided tour of Brazil’s famous Sugarloaf Mountain. Beginning July 23, they will be attending World Youth Day catechesis sessions around the city of Rio in the mornings and various youth festivals in the evenings.
Pope Francis is expected to arrive at World Youth Day at 6 p.m. on July 25. An evening candlelight vigil with the pontiff is planned at 7:30 p.m., July 27. Hawaii pilgrims will be up early the following morning, July 28, for the World Youth Day main event, the papal Mass, at 10 a.m.
After the formal activities end, the diocesan pilgrimage group will stay in Brazil for a few more days of sightseeing. They are scheduled to tour Corcovado Mountain, home of the towering statue of Christ the Redeemer, on July 30. They will also visit Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, before flying back home on July 31.
Visit the Office of Youth
and Young Adult Ministry page for World Youth Day updates straight from Rio.
