This year, Washington Auxiliary Bishop Martin Holley will travel with youth from the Archdiocese of Washington to Kraków, Poland to attend his fourth World Youth Day, this time joined by his niece and nephew. He looks fondly upon each of his previous trips, which were to Cologne, Germany in 2005; Sydney, Australia in 2008; and Madrid, Spain in 2011.

One of his favorite memories was seeing the youth in Cologne jump into the water of the Rhine River as they greeted Pope Benedict XVI, who was arriving on a boat. He also remembers being in the middle of an abandoned airfield in Madrid, as the crowd prayed in the rain in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Bishop Holley said he loves experiencing the different cultures, foods and flags, but the two things he enjoys most are getting to know the youth, young adults, chaperones, and seminarians from the archdiocese, and being a part of “the universal prayer.”

“The one, holy, catholic, apostolic faith…We say those words in the Creed, and we see it at Mass; we see it at our local events…but when you magnify that hundreds and thousands of times, wow!” Bishop Holley said. “That is just incredible.”

He is particularly moved by the long lines of youth from all over the world who line up to receive God’s mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where he says there is “a tremendous amount of grace conferred.” This year, during the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year of Mercy, that message will be even more prominent as the young people gather for the Papal Vigil and closing Mass at the site called “The Field of Mercy.”

Bishop Holley is always amazed at the silence of the crowd after the thousands of young people receive Holy Communion or sit in reverence in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

“How can you get that many people to focus?” Bishop Holley said. “It is no less than miraculous, it is the grace of the holy God.”

This year he looks forward to seeing more miracles in the homeland of St. John Paul II.

“I think there are so many miracles that are going to be worked and are being worked right now for these young people and the whole world,” he said.

He particularly believes in the intercessory power of Mary, and expects the Lord to use Our Lady of Czestochowa, who is known as the Queen of Poland, to encourage vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

“The fruits of this World Youth Day will last for many, many years,” he said, noting that he has seen many vocations arise from past World Youth Days. He looks forward to hearing about the experiences of youth who return to the states and feel their call become stronger.

Even though the many young people often do not speak the same language, Bishop Holley said it is a powerful thing to see them worship together, exchange flags, and sometimes develop lifelong friendships.

“Even when you can’t speak the language, there is a universal language of love for the Lord,” he said.