SYDNEY, Australia — World Youth Day officially kicked off July 15 with an opening Mass celebrated by Sydney Cardinal George Pell before an estimated 140,000 people.

CT/E.L. HUBBARD

Members of the youth group from St. Michael Parish in Sharonville posed for a photo before their departure for World Youth Day events in Australia.

While the official welcoming dances were taking place onstage, a group of six young men from Papua New Guinea offered their own choreographed blessing to the four directions of the compass from the place they found to stand in front of the estimated 4,000 concelebrating priests.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd welcomed the pilgrims in a dozen languages, ending by saying that he would speak in Australian, "G’day and have a great time Down Under."

The Mass combined ancient chants, standard hymns, native singing and the anthem written specifically for World Youth Day, "Receive the Power." Women from Australia’s Tiwi Islands sang as the Book of the Gospels was presented.

In his homily, Cardinal Pell encouraged the young people to use the July 15-20 celebration as a time not simply to celebrate their faith with peers from around the world, but to strengthen their commitment to Christ and to open further their hearts and minds to God’s will for their lives.

CT/E.L. HUBBARD

The parish wished its young travelers well on their pilgrimage.

"Secular wisdom claims that leopards do not change their spots, but we Christians believe in the power of the Spirit to convert and change persons away from evil to good, from fear and uncertainty to faith and hope," he said.

Even those who believe and who practice their faith need to do more, Cardinal Pell said.

"Our task is to be open to the power of the Spirit, to allow the God of surprises to act through us," he said.

Too many times, Christians profess and practice their faith, but they try to do it very comfortably and without taking risks, he said.

"Following Christ is not cost-free, not always easy, because it requires struggling against what St. Paul calls ‘the flesh,’ our fat relentless egos, old-fashioned selfishness. It is always a battle, even for old people like me," the 67-year-old cardinal said.

"Don’t spend your life sitting on the fence," Cardinal Pell told them, "because only commitments bring fulfillment."

A number of pikgrims, primarily members of the national fraternity of Lithuanian Franciscan Youth, made the trip to Australia early for the Days in the Diocese July 10-14. The pre-World Youth Day program brings young people together with Catholics in Australia and New Zealand.

The pilgrims from Poland, Lithuania and England were welcomed by Sydney’s neighboring Diocese of Parramatta July 11 by the Aboriginal Darug nation and participated in activities such as visiting the wildlife park.

To ensure they got an authentic taste of the Australian bush during their visit, the pilgrims stayed with parishioners who live in the eucalyptus-forested Blue Mountains, about 60 miles from Sydney’s urban center.

Virginija Mickute, national president of the Lithuanian Franciscan Youth, said the Lithuanians had undertaken many fundraising activities to get to Sydney, but it was the donation from Lithuanian Catholics in the United States that made the difference.

At Our Lady of the Way School, the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry welcomed pilgrims with dancing and music. Aboriginal dancer Jai Pittman, a Durak, led his son and brother in dances of greeting and mimicry of the emu and kangaroo.

The evening ended in prayer, with Aboriginal elder Janice Brown, a Gumbaingirr woman, leading the pilgrims in the prayer prepared by Aboriginal people for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Alice Springs in 1986. — CNS

The group from St. Michael, Sharonville, will chronicle their trip on a blog at http://stmichaelswyd.blogspot.com

CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING

Pilgrims from Ohio let out a cheer in Sydney, Australia, July 14, before the official start of World Youth Day.