McAsey attends World Youth Day in Poland

Holton High School senior Ian McAsey ended his summer of travel in a field in Poland surrounded by three million people from all over the world participating in mass led by Pope Francis. 

The special mass was part of World Youth Day, a religious pilgrimage that takes place every three years to help unify numerous cultures and enrich students’ lives.   

McAsey left for Krakow, Poland on July 23 and returned Aug. 2. He is the son of Roger and Jackie McAsey, who are members of St. Dominic Catholic Church in Holton.

“The whole idea of World Youth Day is that it’s a gathering of Catholic youths from each and every country,” Ian McAsey said. “Every day they had mass somewhere in a different language.”

McAsey heard about the trip through the Mother Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church of Topeka. The group from that church joined a larger group from the Kansas City Archdiocese. McAsey said, altogether, he traveled with about 100 students, priests and seminarians from across Kansas, including Valley Falls and Horton.

Each day, McAsey said, they would break into groups of 10 or 20 and walk to catechism sessions, mass and some of the historical churches and relics in the country as a form of pilgrimage. 

“We were getting in about 10 to 11 miles per day,” he said. “It rained there every day, and the temperatures were about 100 degrees or more. We were constantly pulling out ponchos to wear but that was part of the point of the pilgrimage – to offer that up and make that sacrifice.”

To get to the final mass, McAsey said he and his group had to walk 14 miles. 

“Every day we had mass,” he said. “We had mass in the airport in Newark, N.J., in a gymnasium on a ping pong table and in the shrine of the Black Madonna.”   

McAsey and those who participated in World Youth Day stayed in dorms during the event. He said that youth from other religions were welcome to participate in the pilgrimage. 

“We met with groups from the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Jordan,” he said. “At this time, Christians in some of those areas are very persecuted so it was amazing to see them come out for the event.”   

Pope Francis arrived on the fourth day of the event, McAsey said, which included a large processional through the streets. 

“When I first saw him, I had this moment of, ‘Oh my goodness, there he is,’” McAsey said. “It just kind of takes your breath away.” 

McAsey said he enjoyed meeting new people and learning about different cultures. He and several people sought out different cheese-filled and meat-filled pierogies to taste on the trip. A pierogi is a stuffed dumpling.

“They have all different types of pierogies,” he said. “Polish is a very interesting language, and the people were very hospitable.”

The group also spent some time in Germany before driving to Poland for World Youth Day.

McAsey said he began planning for the trip more than two years ago.

“We had the opportunity to do a lot of different fund-raisers,” he said, noting that the trip cost him $4,000. “I sold cinnamon rolls, and we set up a fireworks stand. I also want to thank the local Knights of Columbus because they raised $1,500 for me through a mountain oyster dinner. Lots of members of our church helped me, as well as family friends and members of the community. So many people have been so supportive of the trip.”

In eighth grade, McAsey traveled to Italy and Greece for 20 days for an educational trip, which sparked a desire to continue to travel the world. When the opportunity to attend World Youth Day presented itself, he didn’t hesitate.

“It was an awesome trip, and it was a good way to end the summer,” he said. 

The next World Youth Day will be held in Panama in 2019.