Cardinal Tagle’s talk in Krakow rekindles WYD 2016 flame

Cardinal Tagle’s talk in Krakow rekindles WYD 2016 flame

MANILA, Feb. 15, 2017– World Youth Day (WYD) veterans and others young at heart revisited the message and spirit of WYD 2016 when Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle gave a talk at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Krakow, Poland, on Feb. 11.

The Cardinal’s talk was part of the continuing WYD-themed retreats held in Krakow, “Fire for us and the whole world”, reported Niedziela, the biggest Catholic weekly in Poland and Central-Eastern Europe, produced by the Archdiocese of Czestochowa.

Already in its fourth edition, the retreat on Feb. 11 focused on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The Manila Archbishop shared about the “Gift of Fortitude”, in which he gave witness to the courage of the profession of faith of Christians in an era of numerous persecutions all over the world.

WYD feel

People in the Philippines and around the world can still watch the video of the event via Youtube.

Ewa Korbut, retreat volunteer, said the retreat had “a ‘little more feel’ of the World Youth Day because our speaker – who comes from the other end of the world- was also present at the festival of young people in Krakow and, more specifically, at the Mercy Center, where the catechesis in English was held.”

Other speakers of the event included Mateusz Ochman, Tomasz Adamski, and Monika Rybczyńska.

Every WYD: an encounter with Jesus

“Every celebration of the World Youth Day is actually an encounter with Jesus. Jesus, who speaks not only through the Pope, but also though the events of life, especially in the lives of other young people,” Tagle was recalled saying during WYD in Krakow.

“Carry the flame of your faith and ignite with it other flames, so that human hearts will beat to the rhythm of the Heart of Christ, which is ‘a flaming fire of love’,” said Krakow Archbishop, Cardinal Dziwisz, during the WYD opening Mass on July 26, 2016.

Filipinos in Poland avidly followed the event with Tagle according to Ronaldo Farrales, an IT consultant living with his family in Warsaw.

Filipino priest, Fr. Herbie Canete, R.C.J., of the Rogationist Community in Krakow, said that he and other priests also heard confessions during the retreat.

Aside from being a Doctor of Theology, Tagle is known to be heavily involved in charity work and the support of persecuted Christians as the head of Caritas Internationalis, not to mention his being the archbishop of a city that hosted the 10th WYD, one that still boasts the highest number of attendees during the closing Mass. (Fr. Mickey Cardenas/CBCP News)