Can a sinner become a saint?
Did canonized saints ever commit sin? Were they born with a halo? Were they perfect in every way possible? In the eyes of many Christians saints can appear too “heavenly” or “perfect” to be imitated. Often when reading a biography of a saint the reader can be left with the false impression that if you want to be a saint, you have to be born sinless like the Blessed Virgin Mary. There is even one legend of a saint who refused to be breast-fed as an infant in order to observe a weekly fast on Friday! Is that true? Were all saints born without sin and lived a perfect life united to God’s will? Thankfully, no. Almost all of the ...

Why World Youth day is not a typical youth gathering, and it’s not “Catholic Woodstock” ?
People accuse folks of ‘not being present’ during the big events in their lives because all they care about is snapping a picture with their phones, or grabbing a selfie with a celeb. As a photojournalist, I’m the worst. When I’m covering events, I rarely experience the significance of what’s happening before me. In fact, I try to block it out. My full attention is on getting a photo that might tell the story. Add to that the concerns of security checks, language barriers, and finding the best place to shoot — yep, I’m barely even ‘there.’ But in covering an evening of Eucharistic Adoration in the Tauron Arena during World Youth Day, something happened — reality broke through even my ...

The founder of Shalom Catholic Community, Moysés Azevedo, preached for the participants of the Shalom International Youth Meeting
The founder of the Shalom Catholic Community, Moysés Azevedo, preached for the participants of the Shalom International Youth Meeting in the afternoon of this Monday,1 august, carried out one day after the end of World Youth Day. He stressed the words of Francis Pope about the need for young people to engage in the experience and proclamation of the Gospel which is the way of true happiness and transformation of the world. Moysés renewed the commitment of his life to God and the Church, as he had done 34 years before at the feet of John Paul II. This gesture today has special significance as it was held in Krakow, in the Sanctuary that bears the name of the Polish ...

Why Panama was chosen to be the place of the next WYD?
KRAKOW, Poland- Pope Francis on Sunday closed the Catholic week-long rally know as World Youth Day on a high, inviting the almost two million young women and men who’d gathered in the land of St. John Paul II to meet him again in 2019 – this time in Panama. “God’s providence is always one step ahead of us,” Francis said during the Sunday Angelus prayer, after celebrating Mass in Campus Misericordiae, in the outskirts of Krakow. “Think: it has already determined the next stop in this great pilgrimage begun in 1985 by Saint John Paul II! So now I am happy to announce that the next World Youth Day – after the two that will be held on the diocesan ...

Hopen confirmed their presence in Halleluya Krakow
French band plays for the first time at the Festival Halleluya The band was born in Lyon, France and is made up of Antoine, Camille, Charles and Armond, four brothers, who after a meeting with the band Glorious, decided to create their own band. They combine the passion for music, which they have since childhood, with the joyful witness of faith. They have “Music as passion, the brothers as sustenance, faith as a guide,” said Camille, drummer and percussionist of the band. Young people who have welcomed the invitation of Pope Francis to use their talents to serve the gospel with creativity and boundless, developed an ElectroPop style influenced by the great hits of today and the various cultural rhythms. ...

Park destroyed in the Second World War is Peace celebration stage a week of missions
On Friday, 22, young people from Shalom Community gathered at Szczęśliwicki park in the heart of Warsaw. This modern and pleasant park was built upon the rubble that the Second World War left after destroying 75% of the city. Warsaw was rebuilt and the young people were able to celebrate the peace in this place. Young from German, Tunisia, France, Brazil, Italy, Israel, Hungary, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay, Ecuador and China, which are part of Shalom Community, were gathered once again for the Holy Mass, the Chaplet of Mercy and the show with Shalom Community members. People who were there had been delighted by the joy that comes from God written in Shalom Community young faces. Dances, songs, smiles and hugs. ...

Sister Cristina and 11 other musical acts perform at Halleluya Festival
Sister Cristina and the bands Glorious and The Sun are some of the main attractions of the Halleluya Integrated Arts Festival part of the program of the Youth Festival of World Youth Day 2016. The event is free and takes place on 27, 28 and July 29, from 2pm, in Szczepanski square, in Kraków’s old town, less than three kilometers from the main stage, at the Blonia Park. The show ‘The Song of Irias, on July 27, opens the festival. The “Song of Irias” is a musical that has been presented in more than 20 countries by Shalom Catholic Community , organizer of Halleluya Festival. In all, the event will present 11 acts between music, theater and dance, in different ...

Park destroyed in the Second World War was the stage of Peace celebration in the week of missions
On Friday, 22, young people from Shalom Community gathered at Szczęśliwicki park in the heart of Warsaw. This modern and pleasant park was built upon the rubble that the Second World War left after destroying 75% of the city. Warsaw was rebuilt and the young people were able to celebrate the peace in this place.   Young from German, Tunisia, France, Brazil, Italy, Israel, Hungary, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay, Ecuador and China, which are part of Shalom Community, were gathered once again for the Holy Mass, the Chaplet of Mercy and the show with Shalom Community members. People who were there had been delighted by the joy that comes from God written in Shalom Community young faces. Dances, songs, smiles and ...

In the Park of the dancing waters, Warsaw became capital of friendship and hope
It was nine o’clock in the morning in Warsaw when the group of young people from Israel coming with Shalom Community met a beautiful park with fountains of waters. The scenery inspired a song of praise to God and the joy involved them until one start to dance. Another group nearby saw them and left captivated by the music, then one of the young people from Shalom Community called your entire group to meet the other young group as they came to the week of missions before WYD.   The israeli young group of Shalom Community sang and the other group answered also singing, but in Ukrainian. Until they approached each other and started dancing together in pairs, one Arab ...