After four long years, World Youth Day with the Holy Father has returned. This year it is in Lisbon. I have the great fortune of attending but before I get to that, I would like to remember World Youth Day in Panama when our guys had the great honor of singing for the youth of the world and Pope Francis.

It was a memorable event with 600,000 young people in attendance and it was televised to hundreds of millions perhaps a billion people worldwide.

Witnessing Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero, so close to Pope Francis, was a special moment for me as I’m sure it was for all Il Volo Fans.

I can’t even begin to imagine what the guys were feeling as they looked out over a sea of young people who gathered together in peace and joy! I’m sure it was very emotional, and I know the guys considered it a great honor! Can you imagine singing the Ave Maria, Mater Misericordiae for Pope Francis with all the world in attendance.

Can you imagine how these young people felt experiencing Il Volo’s voices for the first time and realizing they were young adults like them? Many of these young people already knew who they were because the guys are very popular in Latin America but for most it was a first but I’m sure not last time they will listen to the guys. Il Volo sharing World Youth Day with the youth of the world, it doesn’t get better than that!

Can you imagine how awesome it was for the guys to witness these young people united by moments of prayer and truly unique contemplation. All around them was silence which was only broken by their magnificent Ave Maria. Surely this experience will always remain in their hearts. I know for Piero; this was the highlight of his career!

Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca gave Pope Francis a gift of a jewel created for him.

The guys made a video before the event with a message for the young people in attendance at World Youth Day.

Piero: This is a message for all young people like us.

Gianluca: We are honored to be here in Panama at WYD, you are so many, there are almost a million young people.

Ignazio: It will be a great emotion, also because for us it is the first time we sing for the Pope, we will sing a very special Ave Maria, we hope to be close to all the young people, with music, on this spiritual day.

Piero: Long live the WYD and the Pope.

Gianluca: bye

Ignazio: bye

In an article about World Youth Day, Daniela included the following interview.

I am very happy that you all have also been able to enjoy the event live. By testing we saw that the TV2000 streaming channel was often stuck and so Pat did a search and saw that the EWTN channel was better for you.

Sunday, here in Italy, they sent on television, this little interview:

Interviewer: Yesterday at the vigil Il Volo sang, let’s see how this performance went.

Piero:  Some time ago we had met Pope Francis in a private audience, and we gave him, an AVE MARIA, a special record, just for him.

Ignazio: Surely it was a great experience of life, both for our personal lives, and for our career.

Piero: This was the perfect opportunity to understand how beautiful and important it can be, to share all kinds of music.

Gianluca: We can say that it was one of the most beautiful experiences of our lives.

In her article, Daniela concluded: It all passed very quickly, but it was an indescribable moment.

The boys were very serious, as it should be on these occasions. They are never out of place, always appropriate to the event. I was very proud that Il Volo had this wonderful opportunity, it was an honor, and they certainly did not waste it.

These are the words of the boys: If someone had told us that one day we would sing for the Pope, we would hardly have believed it…. Never stop chasing your dreams.

And so, concludes World Youth Day 2019 but to give you a better understanding of what happens at World Youth Day, I will include some words about World Youth Day Lisbon 2023.

The event began on August 1^st and runs through August 6^th. The youth of the world are already arriving. For me and my group of 74, we started out in Spain stopping in Avila before going on to Fatima. I have been in Fatima for five days. Why am I here? Because this is where most of the young people will begin their journey to World Youth Day.

The youth come from all over the globe to meet with the Holy Father. Every continent and every nation is present.

These are some of the young people I met at Valinhos on the road the three little shepherds took every day to graze their sheep. This is a road of peace and many peaceful young adults from around the world will walk this path of faith this week!  

Yes, that’s me with some of the Seminarians from the Diocese of Bridgeport, CT.

Everyone stops to greet one another and each present their flags. USA meets Poland!

While waiting in line at the Basilica I met two lovely Italian ladies!

Philippines meets France.

I also met two lovely ladies from Bangladesh.

At the Candlelight Procession all come together to march in honor of Our Lady.

On Sunday I met groups from every corner of the world. In my group besides the teenagers and young adults from the Diocese of Bridgeport I have a Bishop, five priests and nine Seminarians. It’s a joy sharing World Youth Day with them. 

On Thursday they will meet Pope Francis which brings me back to our guys. These moments have brought back memories of World Youth Day in Panama when our guys sang for Pope Francis.

I hope you have enjoyed this short story about our guys and understood what World Youth Day is about! I took a break from my vacation to write this story because I wanted you to remember World Youth Day with our guys and I wanted you to feel the joy these young people are feeling as they gather together in peace. These are the faces of the young people of the world. They are the hope for our future! 

And now for your listening pleasure the full concert from Radio City Music Hall 2013.

Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!

If you would like to share a story with me, please email:  susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com

To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com