WESTFIELD—A group of Westfield Catholics left Friday to join an estimated two million others to celebrate World Youth Day with Pope Francis in Poland.
The 10 Westfield residents are traveling to Krakow, Poland, for two weeks to celebrate World Youth Day and other festivities, while also traveling and experiencing several pieces of Catholic and Polish history. The group will be led by Father Piotr Calik, who is a native of Krakow and a priest at St. Thomas Parish in West Springfield.
The group will be joining a larger portion of people from the Springfield Catholic Diocese. The trip cost each person around $3,000 to attend, which included food, room and board and travel. Some of those going have been to other World Youth Day events, such as the last one that was celebrated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2013.
“I’m very excited for this trip because I know it will be very fulfilling for me,” said Jaquelyn Luna, a Westfield resident traveling with the group. “When I went the first time I was just reaching confirmation and I’ve gotten more active since then, so I feel that this trip will be much more inspiring and transformative for me.”
Luna is traveling with seven other relatives, including her mother and two sisters.
World Youth Day is an event that first began in 1985, and was created by Pope John Paull II. It has been celebrated every two or three years in various parts of the world, including Madrid, Rome and Denver.
The event, according to Luna, is meant to bring Catholic youths around the world together to central locations to serve a pilgrimage. They travel the areas, meet with fellow Catholics and “come closer to God and hear a message he has” for them.
The group will be led by Calik, who was born and raised in Krakow and has several family members in the area. He said that he will do his best to be a tour guide since he knows the area.
Among the places that will be visited by the group will be Auschwitz, and the estimated two million pilgrims will also spend an “evening under the stars,” celebrating their faith with each other on the tarmac of John Paul II International Airport Krakow–Balice.
