By David Karas | Correspondent
When Kyle McBride learned that the official World Youth Day Cross and Marian Icon would be visiting several cities across the United States for the first time in a quarter-century, he knew he couldn’t miss the opportunity to see the two religious symbols of faith.
The 24-year-old Manalapan resident, and member of the town’s St. Thomas More Parish, visited the nation’s capital the weekend of Aug. 25, where the procession of the cross began at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and moved along the National Mall.
“I knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” said McBride, who graduated from New York University’s Stern School of Business in 2016. “I’ve been to Washington, D.C. before, but I never have walked along the National Mall or visited the St. John Paul II National Shrine or the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.”
Entrusted to the youth and young adults of the world by St. John Paul II in 1984, the cross and icon stopped at five U.S. locations during its journey Aug. 19-27 in Chicago, Miami, Houston, Washington and Los Angeles.
The cross has traveled around the globe since St. John Paul II gave it to the world’s youth, and it’s been part of every World Youth Day celebration, beginning with the first official WYD event in 1986 in Rome.
Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta, O.S.A., Metropolitan Archbishop of Panama and host of the next international World Youth Day gathering in January 2019, extended the Latin American tour of the WYD symbols to include the United States.
On Aug. 25, the archbishop welcomed McBride and the thousands of other youth and faithful gathered in Washington, D.C.
“These people invite us to be different,” Archbishop Mendieta said. “Christ, always young, is inviting us to leave our mark that makes history in the life of others. Let us be the protagonists of this history.”
The procession included stops at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, as well as the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian Castle.
“From hearing prominent clergy draw parallels between our faith and our nation, to interacting with other faithful young adults, it [the pilgrimage] was a sign that our Church is in great hands with millennials and Generation Z,” McBride said. “Plus, it doesn’t hurt that I was on the campus of The Catholic University of America, where our own Bishop [David M.] O’Connell, [C.M.] used to serve as president.”
He reflected on the opportunity to venerate the relic of St. John Paul II and the cross at the shrine along the National Mall.
“I had never venerated the relic of a saint prior to the event, and it truly reminded me that in the midst of chaos, the saints are all praying for us and interceding for us to ensure we live out the universal call to holiness,” he said.
McBride also discussed the more prominent role his faith has been playing in his life as he grows older.
“As I have moved from my teens into my twenties, I have allowed my curiosity to lead me into a deeper exploration of the doctrines and disciplines of the Catholic Church, bringing a great spiritual harmony to my life,” he said. “From being under the care of the Dominican Friars while at NYU to seeing the parish I have attended since birth nurturing the next generation of Catholics, I remain awe-inspired by the marvelous deeds God has done in his world.”
Catholic News Service contributed to this report.