Blessings Send Young Pilgrims to Australia

08 July 2008

World Youth Day pilgrims from across the Clifton Diocese are now onboard their flight taking them to Australia for the world’s largest youth event - and Mass with the Pope.  Our two World Youth Day (WYD) communications officers, Antonia Fafiolu and Rachel Manning were sent on their journey with a special blessing from their parish priest.

Yesterday (7 July), Father Bosco MacDonald, Parish Priest at Holy Family in Patchway, celebrated Mass attended by Rachel and Antonia and their families and friends, during which he blessed them and their journey.

You can listen to Rachel and Antonia’s report in our multimedia panel on the right.  They’re in conversation with Father Bosco in Holy Family church after the blessing.

It was a busy day for our young WYD communications officers.  Before and after the Mass - to which the Evening Post sent a photographer - they were making arrangements for further interviews with local media.  So listen out to your favourite stations and you might hear Rachel and Antonia talking about what being a Catholic means to young people. 

This morning, Rachel spoke with Richard Wyatt on BBC Radio Bristol’s breakfast programme live from Heathrow - just as she was boarding the Australia-bound plane. 

And, yesterday Rachel and Antonia were the main guests on BCfm’s ‘Face to Faith’.

Our previous WYD report.

Keep with cliftondiocese.com for regular WYD reports from our young pilgrims direct from Australia.