Madrid August 17, 2011

Today we were to go to catechesis near our hotel. The church was packed, so our group was not allowed in due to space limitations. It was too late to go to another venue, so we went to a nearby park to have our own catechesis. We were joined by a group from Gary, Indiana and a group from Bari in Italy. We took turns singing and teaching the songs to the others. When we finished, we split into groups and some shopped. Later we met up with the group from the Diocese of Sacramento for evening prayer with the bishop. We then went to Palacio de Deportes for Theology on Tap (without the tap). Bishop Sartain from the Archdiocese of Seattle.
We went for dinner near the Palacio and had delicious burgers or a combination plate (1 fried egg, bacon, ham and fries). We then split into 2 groups and part went to the concert at the Palacio. We decided to go shopping in Plaza Mayor. At our stop a few blocks from the Plaza, we were told there were protesters and we shouldn't go up the steps. We checked it out with a security guard so that our charges could see protesters against the Catholic church in action. We took a look and decided to skip the shopping for the night. In our travels on the subway, we entertained many pilgrims and the general subway population of Madrid. It was a lot of fun even without the shopping. It was wonderful to see the young church out in force.

Singing in the Metro again.


Eating outdoors after a long day, good burgers!


Swapping songs with Indiana and Italy after the
catechesis filled up.


Inside Theology on Tap (without the tap). Archbishop
Peter Sartain from the Archdiocese of Seattle is
speaking.




More exchange of songs and cheers.