August 29, 2011-World Youth Day in Madrid, held August 15-21, was not only special this year because of the 1 million young adults that attended, but it also hosted a Vocation Fair.  Sisters Pat Dowling, CBS, Vocation Director (USA), Elena Serrano, CBS (Peru) and Rosa Sanchez, CBS (South Africa) hosted a vocation booth there for the Sisters of Bon Secours.  The Vocation Expo took place in the Parque del Retiro, a park comparable to Central Park in New York City.  Despite the extreme heat wave in Madrid that week, the sisters were energized by the young adults who came to their booth. 

"The energy and spirit of these young adults who have made their way to Madrid is awesome to see," said Sr. Pat.  While visiting with the Sisters of Bon Secours, these young pilgrims signed the Path of Solidarity paper feet.  Young adults wrote their names and country on the cut-out feet on the path of solidarity as a sign of faith and the possibility of peace. It was a way of uniting young adults in faith who came from 190 countries of the world to learn more about their faith and to share it with each other.  The young men and women also made tiny solidarity bead bracelets and picked up pocket-size pamphlets with comments from Pope John Paul II at the first WYD, which he started. 

Recent surveys of the newly ordained and those making their final religious profession indicate that at least 20 percent of them participated in a World Youth Day at one time or another (www.foryourvocation.org).  Sisters Pat, Elena and Rosa were thrilled to have young women from England, France, Ireland, Peru and the United States sign up to receive additional information about the Sisters of Bon Secours and their lives of active ministry in healthcare, human services, pastoral care, education and social justice.

There was a lot of excitement around the highlight of WYD, the arrival of Pope Benedict XIV.  The massive crowd of young people responded with loud enthusiasm as the Pope greeted them in many languages and gave his message.  Sr. Pat reported that people were everywhere waving flags, singing and clapping.  The spirit of the crowd was amazing and Sr. Pat commented, "There's nothing like being in a young crowd like this to give you hope for the church." ...