Sister Suzanne Stahl of Maryvale had the privilege of chaperoning a group of 25 to Australia for World Youth Day in July. Here she stands by one of the many beautiful sights on the trip. (Submitted photo) 

By Jean Schlegel
Valley City Times-Record

Although Sister Suzanne Stahl had chaperoned a group to World Youth Day before, her latest trip to Sydney, Australia, was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
World Youth Day is a pilgrimage made up of mainly Catholic youth and chaperones, priests, nuns, and bishops, who gather to see the pope, and to share their Catholic faith in God. They get to know people from all over the world.
Sister Suzanne, who is a Sister of Mary of the Presentation at Maryvale near Valley City, chaperoned a group of 25 people from the Diocese of Fargo to World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, from July 6 through July 23. Of the 25 people, seven were adults. The young people ranged in age from 15 to 21.
St. Catherine Church in Valley City was making plans for some youth from that parish to go to Sydney as well, but their youth director moved from the parish last year, and so it didn't work out.
Sister Suzanne had chaperoned a group from the Diocese of Fargo six years ago when they went to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and that was an inspirational trip as well, she said. She and the others saw Pope John Paul II on that trip.
Sister Suzanne has been at Maryvale for three years where she is assistant provincial. She is also vice president of Mission with SMP Health System. A native of Binford (70 miles north of Valley City), she is a certified chaplain and has a master's degree in social work.
There were three groups from the Diocese of Fargo (eastern North Dakota) who made the pilgrimage. Eighty-two people went, which was a large delegation, Sister Suzanne said. Bishop Samuel Aquila of the Diocese of Fargo, was there and celebrated Mass with them on July 14 at 8 p.m. A former pastor of St. Catherine Church, Father Gerard Braun, who is now pastor at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Grand Forks, was their spiritual director on the trip. Sister Suzanne said there was wonderful music that night, and she played her guitar, which she often does.
Sister Suzanne was happy to accept the invitation to chaperone once again this year to Sydney. The next World Youth Day will be in Madrid, Spain, in 2011.
When asked if perhaps she will once again make the pilgrimage in three years, she said she didn't know because it is a large time commitment with her other ministries and it is a physically demanding trip with a lot of walking, sleeping on airplanes and outdoors, and long hours. The latest trip took 20 hours on the airplanes. The group traveled from Fargo to Minneapolis, and then to Los Angeles to Sydney.
World Youth Day is actually a pilgrimage, which differs from a tour. It is more of a religious invitation from God, Sister Suzanne said.
"The concept of a pilgrimage is that you are journeying with Christ. Any discomfort...we give to God as a sacrificial offering," she explained. “We used this time to pray for others in need and those who requested our prayers.”
Pope Benedict XVI came through on his pope mobile on July 17. Catechesis (principles of faith in God and religion) and Mass were held in the morning and the pope's visit was at Barangaroo Park on Sydney Harbour. Various venues of talks, music concerts, and prayer, were then offered throughout Sydney.
The following day there was catechesis and then Mass in the morning and Stations of the Cross through the streets of Sydney in the afternoon. Youth Festival activities were held that evening.
The Pilgrimage to Randwick Racecourse for a vigil with the pope was on July 19. This was the second time the group saw the pope, and they walked approximately seven miles to get there. They walked from north Sydney. Sister Suzanne said there were approximately 235,000 people lined up to see him that evening. It was the largest gathering of young people in the world.
A closing Mass was held on July 20 with the pope. This day is the actual World Youth Day. There were 400,000 people in attendance and yet there was reverence and prayer throughout the Mass. It was here that it was announced that the next World Youth Day will be held in Madrid in 2011. No one knew this until that time. The following two days were spent at the beach, concerts, and touring the Blue Mountains.
Kelsey Zimprich, an 18-year-old from Gardner, who made the trip, had this to say about her experiences in Sydney and the 2008 World Youth Day. “It definitely was amazing and indescribable. The people in Australia, and our house family, were so friendly. Our house family was a younger couple and they were tons of fun. They were willing to do whatever we wanted to do.
"Seeing the pope was definitely the highlight. We waited for three hours for him to come, and we stood in a choice spot for an hour and a half. We didn't know what to expect. It was an experience of a lifetime."
She said the kids in her group were "just ecstatic." They were able to get close to where the pope came by with his pope mobile. It was said there were about 223,000  people lined up to see the pope that day.

This picture of Pope Benedict XVI was snapped by one of the youths from the Fargo Catholic Diocese when they attended World Youth Day in Australia in July. The group, chaperoned by Sister Suzanne Stahl of Maryvale, stood for an hour and a half for  a choice spot to see the pope. (Submitted photo)

For full story, see Monday's edition of the Valley City Times-Record.