Verdi, Erin

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Conversations on Jesuit Higher EducationVolume 45 Article 19April 2014To See the Love, to Share the Joy: World Youth DayErin VerdiFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversationsRecommended CitationVerdi, Erin (2014) "To See the Love, to Share the Joy: World Youth Day," Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education: Vol. 45, Article 19.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol45/iss1/1942 ConversationsIf you take a short walk justbeyond the University Church atFordham’s Rose Hill Campus, youwill find a cemetery in which 124sons of St. Ignatius are interred.Amongst the tombstones, all ofwhich list the place of birth and death ofthe individual they mark, one finds anastounding array of ethnicities and cul-tures represented. There are, for exam-ple, 6 Canadians, 7 Germans, 5 Italians, 4Belgians, 24 Frenchmen, 46 Irishmen, 27Americans, and one Czechoslovakian, anAustrian, a Swiss, a Scotsman, and anEnglishman. Upon closer inspection, youfind that many of the men from Europeentered the Society prior to 1850, andalmost no Americans are found as mem-bers of the Society in the cemeterybefore that point. It is fascinating that, inwhat was still generally a parochial timefor most people, this bustling internation-al community of Jesuits made it toFordham, and one cannot help but won-der how this came to be. Let us rewind to the significant yearof 1814. It was a world which witnessedAs a young Catholic livingin a markedly secularizedand materialistic society, itis sometimes a struggle toexpress or even to remem-ber my spiritual identity.“Catholic” means universal, and yeteven at a Jesuit institution I could feelisolated from my faith and by my faith.My decision to go to Brazil stemmednot only from a desire for culture andan altered perspective but also from anunspoken need to reaffirm my member-ship in the global Catholic community.So often my Catholicism is repressed asa secondary aspect of my person simplybecause it is easier to do so, and I feltsomething vital was missing from mylife. Though it took me a few days toadjust to the lack of warm water andwarm beds, my Brazilian experiencewas ultimately invaluable. It let meview my faith and my religious commu-nity from a different angle, to see thelove there, to share the joy.One scene in particular stands outin my memory – the day Pope Franciswas rumored to drive by the highschool the MAGIS participants werecalling home for the duration of WorldYouth Day. Everyone was rigid withexcitement and made hasty plans toline the streets until they glimpsed theHoly Father. No one could cite thesource of the rumor or tell if the rumorwas anything more than a popularwish, but everyone filed outside earlythat morning anyway, just in case. Asyoung Catholics, none of us could passup the chance to see the pope, whorepresented not only the tradition of theChurch but change within the Churchas well. We were willing to brave theelements, to risk wasting our time andour hopes. The weather in Rio, being unpre-dictable, was often inconvenient. Winterrain poured down on our heads, whichwere shielded with everything from plas-tic ponchos to backpacks to a neighbor’soutstretched arm. It seemed like therewere hundreds of us out there, enthusias-tically anticipating the arrival of PopeFrancis even though we were cold, andwet, and suddenly deprived of every sem-blance of personal space. We clusteredaround each other like family, anxiouslyasking when the pope was allegedly driv-ing by. At this point, I took a mental stepback and observed my peers. All of themlooked like they should have been miser-able, but they weren’t. They were infec-tiously enthusiastic. And after three hours,when Pope Francis sped by in his graysedan and waved, the entire crowd erupt-ed in joyful shrieks and applause as ifthere had been no wait, no uncertainty.All of us had traveled to Brazil and then tothe streets not only to express our faith inGod but also to express our faith in theChurch and its ability to overcome recentchallenges through Pope Francis. Wewere all hopeful for the future of theChurch, just as the Church is hopeful forour futures. My experience in Brazil was like ashot of adrenaline. It reawakened my pas-sion for Christ and reaffirmed that I wasnot alone in my faith. There are many inmy faith community, all of them willing toshare their love with me.  ■Erin Verdi, from Las Vegas, is a senior atSeattle University with a double major inpsychology and creative writing. To See the Love, toShare the JoyWorld Youth DayBy Erin VerdiThe Fathers Who Founded Us:Reflections on the Jesuits RebornBy Nicholas Sawicki00621_conversations #26   12/13/13  5:38 PM  Page 421Verdi: To See the Love, to Share the Joy: World Youth DayPublished by e-Publications@Marquette, 2014

To See the Love, to Share the Joy: World Youth Day

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To See the Love, to Share the Joy: World Youth Day

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