September 2006: In Saint Peter's Square on 9 April 2006, a large crowd celebrated Palm Sunday with Pope Benedict XVI. At the end of Mass, in the presence of the Holy Father, there was the traditional handover of the WYD Cross and Icon of Our Lady Salus Populi Romani. The young Germans, hosts of WYD 2005 in Cologne, handed the Cross over to their peers from Australia who will host WYD in Sydney in July 2008.

The Pope then announced that next February the Cross would commence its pilgrimage around Oceania in preparation for WYD 2008, and that until then the Cross would make "stops in some countries of Africa to manifest Christ's closeness and that of his Mother to the people of that Continent, tried by great suffering" (Benedict XVI, Angelus, 9 April 2006). Perhaps this continent has more need than any other for the hope that the Cross can bring and the consolation that the Mother of the Saviour can bestow. Until now Africa has not been on the pilgrim route of the Cross that started twenty-two years ago.

In 2005, the Pontifical Council for the Laity presented the idea of the pilgrimage of the Cross and Icon around Africa to the bishops' conferences of the continent. Many of them responded enthusiastically. Of course, Africa is huge and the time available for the pilgrimage is limited. Some countries, for political and social-economic reasons, are not in a position to welcome the Cross this time. However, there are twenty countries involved in the pilgrimage going from west to south and then through the centre to the east: Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique, South Africa, Madagascar.

Immediately after the handover ceremony between the young Germans and Australians on Palm Sunday, the Cross and Icon left for Dakar to start the first stage in Africa. The Church in Senegal gave them a festive welcome. Christians in that country are a minority, and the young Senegalese took to heart the words inscribed on the Cross which were addressed to young people by Pope John Paul II on 22 April 1984 when he entrusted them with the Cross:

"... proclaim to everyone that only in the death and resurrection of Christ can we find salvation and redemption".

These young people were not discouraged by distance or the burning sun, but they proclaimed the message of redemption with fervour by taking part in the Holy Week ceremonies that included a six-kilometre Way of the Cross. Huge crowds attended the prayer vigils and the popular devotions that accompanied this pilgrimage. There were so many that some Muslims decided to join the processions.

Another significant moment of the pilgrimage was when the Cross and Icon were handed over to the diocese of Ziguinchor. The Church in Senegal gave this symbol of hope and peace to that region that has suffered from twenty years of rebellion. The young people there were commissioned to become a "non-violent generation". In response, they set out on a "march of peace" that brought the Cross and Icon all around the diocese, and then to Guinea Bissau and Gambia.

From 19 May to 11 June the pilgrimage proceeded to Ghana. Here as in Senegal, the Cross and Icon had a most unexpected success among the people, Christian and otherwise. Many had responded with curiosity and enthusiasm to this unique event. They welcomed these symbols with faith, for they were close to the people, travelling in open trucks through the duty streets of the towns, villages and countryside of Ghana. The programmed schedule could not be kept because of the great crowds. They waited patiently in line to touch and pray at these sacred objects. On other occasions the people, on hearing the bells and drums announcing the arrival of the Cross and Icon to their village, ran out into the street to welcome and touch it, and so held up the journey. As the Cross concluded its pilgrimage in that country, the word "thank you" was on everyone's lips.

On 12 June, the handover of the Cross and Icon from Ghana to Togo took place at the border in a very emotional ceremony. As in the previous stages, the whole Church was represented in welcoming the Youth Cross and the Icon of Our Lady. There were lay people and religious, missionaries and bishops. As we write, this pilgrimage is underway. From what we hear, the entire nation is involved in night vigils, and the churches are filled for Mass in the presence of the Cross and Icon.

Beyond the singing and dancing that line the road followed by the Cross and Icon, the pilgrimage is giving the Church in these countries an opportunity to give a catechesis on the significance of the Cross in Christian life and the important of devotion to Our Lady in the Church. We have seen so many wonderful fruits already.

September 2006 - Written for the Pontifical Council for the Laity News