The day started with a delicious and large breakfast buffet where we were joined by Bus 2. It was a great way to start our day with some amazing conversation and getting to know the other pilgrims.
On the very first day of our pilgrimage in Mexico, we started with a beautiful mass celebrated by both Father Josh from Bus 1 and Father Daniel from Bus 2 in the Church of the Holy Family. The mass was one of our first moments of a direct connection to God and we were called to find a distraction in Christ Himself, and His distractions would be filled with love, glory and grace, aiding us in fulfilling our mission to confidently say yes to the Lord.
We were then taken on a tour throughout Mexico City with our tour guide Silvia where we saw the Main Square. This area is one of the most heavily populated areas in Mexico City. The government palace was our first destination in the square and even as we lined up, we were all smiling and dancing with each other, taking pictures to capture these precious moments.
The palace itself was filled with artworks of Diego Rivera who painted all of Mexico’s history in 3 walls which took 5 years. It had a rich history and culture that made us all so grateful for this new journey whilst interacting with the locals.
The next stop was the Metropolitan Cathedral which was a truly incredible experience to see one of the largest Churches in the world. Every single wall was painted with holy image or was decorated in Saints and glorious images of the Lord. It was one of those moments where you step back and just take it in fully, something that comes rare in our lives today. We were then quickly ushered back to our bus to be taken to the oldest part of Mexico.
This area was one of colourful buildings; red, yellow and blue were common occurrences and it was a sight that brought a smile to your face, the culture and history evident in the cracks in the sidewalk and even in the buildings in themselves. We were allowed some free time to ourselves to which we ate lunch as a group with Darlin and Jason Reyes as our pilgrim group leaders. This was a casual couple of hours that was filled with great conversation, laughter and new memories for the rest of our lives, including eating some crickets.
The last part of our day was to see the Church of St John the Baptist which included moments of self reflection, silence and prayer. This was exactly what we needed after our long day and it was an amazing feeling to kneel before countless images of saints and Christ. We were told countless stories of faith and grace filled individuals who didn’t fail in inspiring us today, centuries later.
The day was then finished with simple leisure time for ourselves to which our groups joined together again for some Mexican McDonald’s and buying some snacks for our the next day which would be a long but rewarding one.
All in all, it was an amazing first day that continued to inspire us for the rest of our journey.
Vanessa Wishalim
Year 12 Catholic Life Leader
God Bless :)