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The InterVIEW

Priest takes ministry from the West Side to WYD 2008

Father Bob Lombardo visits with Lucille Washington after a Tuesday morning distribution in the food pantry at Our Lady of the Angels on June 10.Catholic New World/Karen Callaway

A regular feature of The Catholic New World, The InterVIEW is an in-depth conversation with a person whose words, actions or ideas affect today's Catholic. It may be affirming of faith or confrontational. But it will always be stimulating.

Father Bob Lombardo, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal, is best known in Chicago for his work at the Our Lady of the Angels Mission, taking over the former parish’s decaying rectory and turning it into a nexus of service, spirituality and evangelization. Impoverished neighbors can come for food or clothing, or just to talk, while Catholics from the Chicago area and beyond can come for retreats, service projects or some of both.

But Lombardo’s ministry is not limited to Chicago. Earlier this year, he traveled to Sydney, Australia, as part of an international committee advising on World Youth Day 2008, and he will be at the July 15-20 event with other members of Youth 2000, an international organization that offers eucharistic retreats for young people. He talked about World Youth Day with assistant editor Michelle Martin.

Catholic New World: How did you end up on the World Youth Day committee?

Father Bob Lombardo: I ended up on the committee because, for about 18 years, I’ve been working with Youth 2000. Youth 2000 has been a part of the planning for World Youth Days since the World Youth Day that took place here in the United States in Denver (in1993). This particular World Youth Day is going to take place in Sydney. I was asked if I would be one of the representatives that would help them.

CNW: What does the committee do?

Lombardo: The World Youth Days are organized by the Vatican through the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and then there’s a diocese that hosts it, in this case, the Archdiocese of Sydney. They’re working in conjunction with all the dioceses down in Australia. Basically, you have the Vatican that helps with the overall coordination, and they want to get a broad spectrum of people from other countries to come in and give some input and critique things, even things like the menu. What they are going to do when the kids are outside for the overnight vigil, how do they provide food, what do we think from our experience would work?

Also, the other piece of it is to help get volunteers from our own countries. We need people from different language groups and things of that nature. So, for example, we helped coordinate with the Stations of the Cross in downtown Sydney. They’re going to have different locations throughout the Stations of the Cross — it’s going to be basically a long route — where they’re going to have evangelization areas. Say, people from Sydney who are just walking by — it’s going to be down in the business district — they might have questions about the Catholic faith.

CNW: Of the World Youth Days you’ve been to, does one stand out as the best?

Lombardo: I actually loved Rome (in 2000). The heat was the one drawback. But there’s something about being in Rome, with the history there, the martyrs, St. Peter’s, being on the spot where St. Peter was martyred and then buried. There’s an understanding of the universality of the church, the great history of the church, that was very, very beautiful. Plus, it was the jubilee year as well. There just seemed to be an excitement there.

CNW: What have you learned about making World Youth Day a success?

Lombardo: Organization is the key. One thing I have to tell you: I am very, very, very impressed with the way the church organizes large events. It’s not easy to do. With that said, between the Vatican, the Council for the Laity, the way they help steer things, or see that things are done appropriately —everything from the papal Masses to the vigil with the Holy Father — it’s just very, very interesting to me to see all the detail that’s involved, from security issues, to bathroom issues. The people in the Vatican are really on top of all this stuff, and it’s a lot of stuff. It’s not that they are doing all the detailed organization of it, but they are so good at assisting, and that’s something people really don’t see.

Also, to be able to see the universality of the church, the way everybody comes together from all different countries and work together for a common goal.

CNW: What will you be doing in Sydney?

Lombardo: We’re going to be having a center where we’ll have Mass every day, and we’ll host opportunities for people to come for quiet prayer, some of those different holy hours. Also, this year at the overnight vigil, they’re going to have four rather large tents set up in the four corners of the venue, and they’re going to have allnight adoration in four different large areas so that the vigil can become more prayerful. Sometimes the vigils (the night before the papal Mass) can kind of have the atmosphere of a rock concert.

The church listens. Sometimes that’s not the impression that people might have. But among all the discussions at the meetings, people have said, among all the other good things that are there — it’s not that the music is not good — it’s rather, can we complement the music with another piece which gives the kids a chance to just quiet down and just pray and meditate a little bit?

We want to nurture that quieter prayer life so that when they go back home they want to be more active participants in their parishes. They want to more actively participate in the Mass. They also have a deeper appreciation for that essential personal prayer life, that personal relationship with the Lord.