WYD Report: Auschwitz Visit

“All I could do really was stand there and read the sign and take off my hat out of respect because there is nothing that could be said to further encapsulate what comes from this visit,” said Matthew Perez.

WYD Report: Mercy Center (with slideshow)

“Sometimes we think Mass is only for old people. Looking around is a good reminder that there are young people around that do believe in Jesus and are alive with the Catholic faith and want to be here,” Cintron said.

WYD: Day 2, Catechesis (with Slideshow)

“The world needs God’s mercy in so many different ways that each of us can be a minister of mercy to the world,” Bishop DiMarzio said.

WYD Report: Opening Day with Slide Show

“It’s pretty amazing just to be here for the first time with so many more blessings that I can bring back to my parish,” said pilgrim Jilenny Duran, 16.

Diocesan Youth on Pilgrimage

Snapshots of World Youth Day pilgrims from Brooklyn and Queens en route to and upon arrival in Krakow, Poland.

B’klyn Pilgrims Learn History at Auschwitz

Walking into the Auschwitz concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland, Stephanie Dalton of SS. Simon and Jude parish, Gravesend, felt a chill along her spine. She called it the spirit of those who died at the hands of Nazis over 70 years ago.

Relic of St. Maximilian On View in the Diocese

The major relics of a Polish-born Franciscan friar, who voluntarily gave his life for a stranger in a Nazi concentration camp, are on pilgrimage in the Brooklyn Diocese through July 24.

Diocesan Pilgrims Make Final Preps for WYD

In the final week before heading to Krakow, Poland, for World Youth Day (WYD), local pilgrims met with Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio to pray and go over final preparations. The official diocesan contingent is comprised of 400-pilgrims, including 23 priests and three bishops.

Brooklyn Youth Ready To Join Pope in Poland

Michele Cipriano, 20, a catechist at St. Patrick, also feels blessed to go to her second WYD. “This isn’t a vacation. We are going for a purpose, we have a mission,” she said.