Before the Vigil that night, there was a party with good music, food, drinks and new friends. Indeed a WYD feeling and it even reminded me of our Oyak nights at Taizé, France. Oliver and Denise, 17 and 20 respectively, told us that their moms just persuaded them to go with Tropa but Denise, with a smile, told us; "I'm glad I joined." It was indeed an enjoyable and fun night.

The Vigil started at 23.30 inside the gothic-styled Altenberger Dom. The pillars inside the church were illuminated in blue, exuding tranquility. The altar was also illuminated in blue and the Madonna and Child at the center in yellow. The participants were singing and praying as we watched a recorded video of the vigil in Sydney. Afterwhich, we all lighted our candles and after a prayer in silence, we all went to the altar and offered the candles much like the celebration in Sydney.  The vigil ended at 1 o'clock in the morning and we took a break.

At 2 o'clock in the morning, carrying our ISO mat and sleeping bags, we went again inside the church for the live telecast of the final mass in Sydney. Inside the church, illuminated then in yellow, we all joined the pilgrims in Sydney and the world in celebrating the mass with Pope Benedikt XVI. The sleeping bags, ISO matte, warm tea on the church side entrance and most of all the atmosphere of faithfulness kept us warm from the cool temperature of the morning. It was a solemn and meaningful celebration. Robert, 16, shared that he was able to stay awake for the whole mass without falling asleep. It was almost six in the morning when the celebration ended and I believe that staying awake during the mass has blessed each one of us present there.

With roughly an hour of sleep, we all woke up, fixed our things and went to get breakfast. We all shared the table and everybody seemed to have slept well albeit short, while still having some reserved energy for laughter and fun. On the way home, sleeping on our seats in the bus, one can feel the contentment of having participated in the celebration, feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit and the Tropa has become witnesses once more of God's power.