Michelle Boris said her original reason for attending the recent World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, was a selfish one. She had recently lost her “rescue dog” from Morocco and thought she could make a side trip to that nearby country to honor her dog.
She ended up being asked to co-lead a group of pilgrims to Lisbon. A side trip to Morocco didn’t pan out, but the trip was “very beautiful, because at the overnight vigil (the night before World Youth Day closed), when we had adoration with the pope outside, I was just really overcome,” Boris said. “I had a picture of my dog with me and I was like, wow, that inspiration really impacted these 16 lives here,” she said of being able to help lead the group. “And that was … a very powerful moment for me.”
Boris, coordinator of young adult ministries at St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake, recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to discuss World Youth Day along with another attendee, Paul Lucke, from our Lady of Grace in Edina.
Lucke wanted to make the trip because he had never seen Pope Francis in person, he wasn’t sure when else he’d go, “and I thought there’d be something inspiring and validating about going to a festival of a million-plus other youths who are there, all for the same reason, to grow their faith, see the people and meet other people.” He said he was glad he did.
Lucke believes the trip strengthened his faith life. He found it “validating to see … a million others come for the same reason as I did — to grow in their faith and see faith in action,” he said. “I saw a lot of faith played out in the lives of other people there … and it’s just encouraging to hear that everyone else is growing and trying, too.”
Boris said her group had “a very wonderful, very meaningful experience.”
“I think Portugal did a lot of things right, and everybody has said that this has impacted their lives in some way,” she said. While there were challenges, she said, “overall, it was a very good and meaningful trip for everyone.”
One impactful experience was the last full day, walking seven or eight hours in 97-degree heat to the site of an overnight vigil where every participant sleeps outside. “It’s very difficult to find a way to wake up 1.5 million people at 6 in the morning,” Boris said. But “a DJ priest” succeeded with music. “It just really spoke to almost enculturation of the Gospel and doing it in a way that young people would respond to it,” she said. “A lot of our group really enjoyed it.”
During the interview, Lucke described the two “up close and personal experiences” he had with Pope Francis. To hear details about Lucke’s and Boris’ experiences at World Youth Day, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Aug. 25 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. Aug. 26 and 2 p.m. Aug. 27.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who describes ways to support Catholic educators this school year; and Colin Miller, founder of the Center for Catholic Social Thought, who discusses the center and an upcoming speaker series on living the Church’s social teachings, “The Catholic Social Difference.”
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
