On July 19, we left Jacmel, Haiti, together with Wanitha Ceus, Omanie and Debora Scutt for Lodi, NJ. Wanitha and Debora were chosen to participate in WYD. Sad to say, only Wanitha received her visa for Poland. Debora, being a minor, was rejected at the last minute. It was not all sad; Debora did have a visa for the USA and came with us to visit family in Connecticut for the first time. We had only two days to get ready to begin our pilgrimage.

On July 22, we made our way to JFK airport and boarded a plane with hundreds of other pilgrims for Warsaw, Poland. It was in Warsaw we met with the other 45 pilgrims participating in the Felician Youth Pilgrimage, WYD Kraków 2016. The excitement was high and the energy contagious.

The pilgrimage began in Warsaw, walking in the footprints of our founders Blessed Mary Angela. Then it was to Czestochowa, Kraków, and the home of St. John Paul II, Wadowice and Oświęcim.

For Wanitha, our doctor who works in our mobile clinic, it was a life-changing experience. Her most touching transforming moments were walking in the footprints of Blessed Mary Angela, especially before the Blessed Sacrament and Divine Mercy Sanctuary. She also shared how profoundly she experienced the universal church and its embrace from everyone participating. 

We all were encouraged and filled with hope for our young Church, as Pope Francis reminded us all to “be living writers of the Gospel.”