By Anthony Macdonald from PROJECTeye

With a scattering of national flags and large groups of people singing and chanting, WYD looks and sounds like a sporting event.

Singing pilgrims dressed in their national colours are swarming Sydney’s streets, and the hysteria of Pope Benedict’s arrival far surpassed the excitement of the Sydney Olympics and the 2005 Rugby World Cup.

While it looks and sounds like a sports festival, WYD is actually a religious event. It’s a mass gathering of Catholic pilgrims intent on strengthening their faith.

To prove that faith and sport can coexist, Sydney University’s Australian Catholic Students Association organised an international soccer tournament – the Papal Plate.

Eight teams completed for the Plate in the finals phase at the University last night.
The teams – Australia, Lebanon, US, Italy, Croatia, Brazil, Poland and Austria – were cheered on by supporters brandishing flags and banners.

Teams sang their national anthem before their first match of the night, as the mostly-Australian crowd watched on in awe of the occasion.

“This is the first Papal Plate at a WYD,” organiser Anthony McCarthy said.

“It’s a good mix. The pilgrims have come to Australia proud of their nationalism and this is another way they can show it.”

The Polish side was the best supported of the international sides, with up to one hundred supporters dressed in red and white cheering for their country.

Polish student, Ewelina Szczypek said 2000 pilgrims from her country travelled to Sydney for this week’s event and a large proportion of them are staying at St Mary’s Cathedral School in the city.

“It’s very nice to have this tournament because it is another way for us to meet people from Australia and chat with each other,” she said.

Szczypek, 20, didn’t know her fellow Polish pilgrims before WYD, but she said she has made some life-long friendships out of the event.

“The first time we all met was our last meeting in Poland before we came,” she said.

“But it’s very useful for me coming to Australia because I study English at university, but I do not get the chance to speak it often.”

Players in the tournament were also playing for the Karol Józef Wojtyÿa Medal, named after Pope John Paul II.

“He [Pope John Paul II] was apparently a promising young goal keeper back in the day,” McCarthy said.

ProjectEye is a content partner for SBS providing critical news coverage of WYD08 from a youth perspective.
Source: Project Eye