As thousands of youth are setting foot in Krakow for World Youth Day, many voiced their excitement not only to meet peers who share the same faith, but above all to see Pope Francis in person.
For Ernest, a young pilgrim traveling from Zimbabwe, "that feeling is going to be out of this world. It's going to be out of this world." Ernest said that he's always seen the Pope on TV, but never in person. He missed Francis during his trip to Africa last year, which included stops in Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic, because he decided to go on a pilgrimage to Uganda, but arrived only after the Pope had left.
"People tell me it was really packed," he said, adding that while it was a blessing to see the impact Francis left in Uganda, "I'm really excited and I'm really expecting to see the Pope" in person. Ernest said this is his first time attending a WYD, but that after hearing his peers talk about their experiences in the 2011 and 2013 gatherings in Madrid and Rio de Janiero, he decided to go.
"They say it was a blessed experience, that's why I'm here. I've never seen the Pope, so I want to see him for the first time! It's so great to be here."
Ernest and his group, numbering around 30-40 people, are just a small part of the more than 300,000 pilgrims expected to arrive to Krakow this week for WYD. World Youth Day officially kicks off July 25 and lasts through July 31, with Pope Francis arriving July 27. It will be the second WYD of his pontificate.
Most pilgrims traveling to Krakow will be arriving from other pilgrimages they've made to places such as Rome and other important sites in and around Poland such as the Shrine of Czestochowa, the Divine Mercy Sanctuary, and John Paul II's hometown of Wadowice, which sits some 30 miles southwest of Krakow.
