Hundreds turn out for pilgrimage, outdoor Mass for World Youth Day

Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller leads special procession

SAN ANTONIO – It’s one of the largest gatherings of young adults in the world. Millions of people could be seen in the streets of Krakow, Poland, singing, praying and making new friends on World Youth Day.

While 200 attendees from the Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio traveled to be with Pope Francis for the international gathering, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller led a special procession at local missions.

"Catholic means universal and really with us praying here and with them praying over in Europe,” said 19-year-old Sebastian Luna, “Now, the whole world is praying today."

"We want to celebrate it locally and to be able to be in solidarity with what is going on over there, but also to receive the graces and the blessings that come in journeying in a pilgrimage with our young people around the world," Garcia-Siller said.

Hundreds of locals came out to participate in the pilgrimage walk to celebrate World Youth Day and to share their love of Christ.

"You get your own spirituality and the spirituality of the entire Earth. It’s just the strangest feeling and the most warm feeling," Luna said.

They followed Garcia-Siller from Mission Concepción to Mission San José, where he ended the pilgrimage with 90-minute outdoor Mass.

"It's not about the bells and smells, how some people say, or how I call ‘sit, stand, or bend’ in church. It’s about trying to know as much as you can with what little faith you have and trying to build it. Blow on the little ember and make something good out of it," Luna said.