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WYD 2016 – Oblate Days

The Polish Oblates welcomed over 1500 people into their parish, including us! There were a variety of countries represented, from Canada to Turkmenistan. In our group alone we had four countries represented: Ireland, England, Scotland and the USA. There was such an amazing atmosphere from the second we arrived in Wrocław. In the week we listened to talks given by the Superior General; Fr Louis Logan and the Provincial of Poland along with our own Fr Raymond Warren. Through the talks we learned about the charism of the Oblates and St Eugene.

The opening ceremony allowed us to come together as one family and gather for one thing, to worship. The Oblates are a very youth centered religious order and we listened to Fr Rois Alonso Luis Ignacio about St Eugene’s and Youth History of Mutual Evangelism. Fr Rois gave us the time to reflect on what God has done in our lives and how we could use this close connection with him to bring the Gospel to those who were less fortunate as St Eugene did.

As well as catechesis we took part in many other things including a football match. Our own John Roe captained the Rest of the World Team Vs The Oblates.

We also attended and took part in the festival of nations on the second night. “The Festival of Nations was pretty cool, you got to see each country at its finest. For example Canada had a rap song that showed what was going on in Canada and Spain did an interactive dance which really helped people get in the mood for WYD”. Beata Korba, Scotland.

The OMI WYD in Wrocław struck the balance between worshipping and having fun. This was portrayed throughout all of the events we attended.

“Spending time with the Oblates in Wroclaw reaffirmed that the human support within our faith is far more reaching that I often acknowledge. Being reminded of that was beautiful and empowering”. Jassy DeMetz, USA.

It was sad to say goodbye to Wrocław and all the people who had made it what it was. Before we all made our departures we stopped off at a little town called Malnia, the birthplace of Blessed Father Józef Cebula. Here we celebrated our final mass together as the Oblate family. The whole town came together to welcome us and provide us with cake and tea. The atmosphere was bulging with joy and happiness, which really set us up for WYD in Kraków.