Arkansas priest to lead World Youth Day group in 2016

Poland to host about 3 million youth; Arkansas hopes to double attendees from 2013

Published: July 24, 2014

By Madeline Roberts
Special to Arkansas Catholic

Polish relationships already forming

Father James Melnick will be leading a group of Catholic youth to Kraków, Poland, for World Youth Day 2016. Before the group arrives in Kraków, they will spend a week in a Polish parish as part of Days in the Diocese, a mission week before WYD. Each group attending WYD can request a local parish they will stay with for Days in the Diocese. Unlike his last WYD trip, Father Melnick says he might have a parish in mind.

“Our parishes of St. Augustine in Dardanelle and St. Andrew in Danville have a mission project in Poland,” he said. “We have four parishioners doing mission work there right now and I want to see if this would be a place of evangelization during the Days in the Diocese.”

Estephania Oliva and Fátima Solis of Danville and Yarissa Ledesma and Barbara Zárate of Dardanelle partnered with Emmaus Journey, a group focused on Catholic evangelization and discipleship, to do missionary work. The organization had a contact in Poland and suggested the four women volunteer there. With financial help from Emmaus Journey and fundraising, they were able to stay in Tlen, Poland July 2-18. They worked at Oaza Camp, a Catholic summer camp for children, where they helped conduct vacation Bible school and other camp activities.

Father Melnick plans to talk to the parishioners about their experience in order to see if Tlen is where the WYD group should stay.

“I want to build on these relationships (the parishioners) have already built,” he said.

— Madeline Roberts

Divine Mercy is focus of WYD logo

VATICAN CITY — The official logo and prayer for World Youth Day 2016 were unveiled in the event’s host city — Krakow, Poland — by the city’s archbishop, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz. The Vatican released the information the same day, July 3.

The logo and prayer focus on the theme chosen by Pope Francis from the Gospel of Matthew: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

The logo, created by Monika Rybczynska, 28, with help from Emilia Pyza, 26, features a red and blue flame of Divine Mercy flowing from a gold cross surrounded by a red outline of the map of Poland. A gold dot represents the city of Krakow on the map and also symbolizes the youth. The red, blue and yellow colors represent the official colors of Krakow and the city’s coat of arms.

The prayer begins with a line from St. John Paul II’s homily at the dedication of the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow in 2002: “God merciful father, in your son, Jesus Christ, you have revealed your love and poured it out upon us in the Holy Spirit, the comforter, we entrust to you today the destiny of the world and of every man and woman.”

— Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

Father James Melnick, 30, took young adults to World Youth Day in Brazil in 2013 and is ready to take another group to the international gathering in Poland in 2016.

The pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Dardanelle and St. Andrew Parish in Danville recently announced his plans to travel with Catholic youth to Kraków. He said the gathering, which usually draws about three million Catholics 16 to 35 years old, is “an event that shows the Catholic Church’s preferential option for the youth.”

“(World Youth Day) is all about giving young people a chance to encounter Christ and the universal Church in a very dynamic way,” he said. “It is a chance for all of us to really ask God, ‘What do you want from me?’ and ‘Where do you want me in your Church?’”

Although WYD itself is a weeklong event from July 25 to Aug. 1, Father Melnick’s group will spend 18 days abroad July 20 to Aug. 4. Before they go to Kraków, the group will stay with a Polish parish for Mission Week, also known as Days in the Diocese.

Father Melnick explained the youth attending will be “overwhelmed by generosity and hospitality.” The group will do some service, working with local ministries and charities, but most of the time they will be sharing their faith with their Polish hosts.

After their stay, the group will travel to Kraków for the main event, which begins with a Mass celebrated with fellow Catholic youths from all over the world. Over the next couple of days, Father Melnick’s group will worship and receive catechesis from archbishops and cardinals.

The highlight of the event will be the arrival of Pope Francis, who will celebrate Mass and lead an evening vigil with the youth. The event will conclude with Pope Francis announcing the country to host the next WYD.

Father Melnick and his group will stay in Kraków a few more days afterward for sightseeing. They will travel to Czestochowa to see the miraculous painting of the Black Madonna and will also visit Wadowice, the hometown of St. John Paul II, to see where he was born and baptized.

Father Melnick has high hopes for this trip. When he went to WYD in 2013, 13 youth came along; for this trip, he hopes to have around 30. He also wants Bishop Anthony B. Taylor and several priests to accompany the group.

“I told (Bishop Taylor) we’d save him a spot,” Father Melnick said. “He’s open to the idea of going.”

The trip will cost around $4,400 per person, but Father Melnick has plans for fundraising to defray those costs. Father Melnick and his group raised enough money that last year’s travelers had to pay only $500 each. He explained as long as the group is dedicated to fundraising, paying for the trip shouldn’t be an issue.

Interested participants must be 18 years old as of July 20, 2016, and pay a $200 registration fee to reserve their spot and hotel room.

“We need a deposit as soon as possible to reserve their spot,” he said. “I would like a youth leader from their parish to be involved in going to World Youth Day. This will help coordinate fundraising as well as promoting prayers and preparation.”

Father Melnick described the trip as a great opportunity for faith.

“It’s very moving,” he said. “I think it’s one of those experiences where over time it just gets more powerful.”

Anyone interested in attending should contact Father Melnick at (501) 499-4917 or .