By Jacquie Rath
Durdaller is a lifelong Rockville Centre resident who has dedicated much time and energy to serving the Catholic Church as a youth minister. She acted as a chaperone for young church members who made the pilgrimage to Germany for this year's World Youth Day celebration, accompanying members of Saint Bernard's Church in Levittown as well as two young women from Rockville Centre, Caitlin Corneliess and Erin Carroll.
"Such a large group of young people coming together as the Catholic world is an amazing thing to watch, and I wanted to share it with the kids," said Durdaller.
"At some of the events, we were literally able to watch the world walk by," said Carroll.
The group began its travels with a side trip to Italy, where they saw the Vatican. Then an unscheduled layover in Paris left them just enough time to see the cathedral of Notre Dame. "They took your breath away," Durdaller said of the famous sights. Then the group traveled to Dusseldorf, Germany, its temporary home for the duration of the event.
Although the group arrived on time for the opening mass, held in a stadium, it was shut out due to an over-capacity crowd. Luckily, group members were able to watch the mass on screens outside the building. It turned out to be an evening of "interacting" for the young people, said Durdaller. "The gathering of so many people for the same reason was just overwhelming," added Corneliess. They were able to meet visitors from other countries, and spent time trying to converse and learn about one another. They enjoyed sharing tales from their homelands as well as trading items such as T-shirts and pins.
The next evening, Bishop William Murphy took the approximately 400 members of the Diocese of RVC who attended the event for a dinner cruise on the Rhine River. The cruise offered the Long Islanders an opportunity to share their travel experiences, enjoy the sights and celebrate mass together. "Bishop Murphy is great with the kids. He draws a lot of energy from them," said Durdaller. In his homily aboard the boat, the bishop said, "We come together like this and we strengthen one another in our faith and communion and our love for one another."
The following morning, Durdaller and her group left their hotel early, and traveled to the site where the welcoming of the pope would occur later that day. Determined not to be shut out of this special event, they arrived at 10 a.m. for the 5 p.m. event. The pope arrived by boat, and passed directly in front of the group from Long Island.
According to Durdaller and Corneliess, one of the most moving moments of the trip was the Stations of the Cross. Across the city, each small church was filled with young Catholics moving through the stations in both German and English. As they reached the last station, the attendees were told to exit the building and walk to another church, where they would finish. They all followed the crucifix through the streets and congregated at larger houses of worship. "We walked through the street much in the way Christ traveled before he was crucified. It was amazing to think that only a small representation of the Catholic community was there at that moment," said Durdaller.
The next day, many of the attendees traveled four hours by both train and foot to celebrate a candlelight vigil. After the vigil, the young Catholics camped out at the site for the night. When they awoke the next morning, the field became the site of the closing mass.
"After the shared experience, I feel closer to my youth group, have renewed faith and spirit, and have greater motivation for future work," said Durdaller. "It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Comments about this story? JRath@liherald.com. or Call Jacquie Rath at (516) 569-4000 ext. 285.
