Hundreds of young pilgrims greeted the World Youth Day cross and icon with applause and singing as the religious symbols arrived at Sydney’s Circular Quay by ferry today after a 2-year intercontinental journey around the World. It has been a tradition and culture of World Youth Day to take the cross on a pilgrimage around the globe before the actual World Youth Day. in 2006 – 2007, the Pilgrim Cross was taken to Asia and Africa. On July last year, the cross finally arrived in Australia and toured the whole Aussie country in a year long pilgrimage to its different dioceses.

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Pilgrims singing in dozens of different languages flocked to central Sydney this morning to accompany the World Youth Day symbols in a procession along Pitt Street to Central Station. “For us, the cross is a message from Christ,” Italian pilgrim Paola Verde said. “It’s a message of hope and love.” Road closures are in place for the procession. Dozens of office workers came out into the streets to see about a thousand pilgrims dancing and singing through Sydney. Loud chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” accompanied choruses of Ave Maria and a “Bongo Polska” chant from a contingent of Polish Catholics.

“The Polish spirit comes through a thousand years of Catholicism and enormous loss of life through many wars and periods of oppression,” pilgrim Edward Debrovski said. The spirit of Polish Catholics had been strengthened since the reign of the Polish Pope John Paul II, he said. American pilgrim Anna Samuels accompanied the cross and icon across Sydney Harbour on the ferry Narrabeen and said the excitement was overwhelming as it sailed into Circular Quay. “Now is just the beginning,” she said. “It was just so wonderful having everyone singing as one as we came into Sydney.” Store worker James McInerney said he was enjoying the show. “It’s something you don’t see every day, I’m just sitting back trying to see what it’s all about,” Mr McInerney said. “There’s a lot of smiles, a lot of happy people around, which has got to be good, you don’t often see that in the city on a Monday morning.” Ten-year-old pilgrim Paolini Pazdzior said the arrrival of the cross was a special moment in her life. “It’s amazing to have it here, to feel the power,” she said.

MORE OF THE PILGRIM CROSS AND ICON IN TODAY’S OTWOMD LIVE WEBCAST OF THE OPENING MASS AND CEREMONY OF THE WORLD YOUTH DAY IN SYDNEY @ 2PM MANILA TIME