THE JOY OF LOVE – AMORIS LAETITIA
An experience of a lifetime!

The Dennis family from South Africa recount their experience of attending the World Meeting of Families 21-26 August 2018

We left Port Elizabeth, South Africa on Saturday, 18 August 2018 and arrived in Dublin, Ireland on 19 August. Our pilgrimage had begun. Sister Geraldine Marie had come to meet us at the airport and drove us to All Hallows College. We settled in and explored the grounds and surroundings.

Galway played Limerick on the day we arrived at Croke Park. It sounded as though the stadium was right next-door to us. Meeting some of the passing spectators, we could sense the jubilation in all the Limerick supporters and the disappointment in the supporters from Galway.
The following morning we joined Vicky, Lihueel and Hector, our Argentinian family from Buenos Aires for an excursion in Dublin and Wicklow. What a learning experience it was communicating, but we got along just fine!

Sister Liz came to collect us on our first day and we were off to have morning tea with Sisters Elizabeth, Caitronia, Liz and Geraldine Marie.

We then visited the local church of Mt. Argus and after a wonderful tour of the church and monastery, we were off to Wicklow.

World Meeting of Families Congress
Day 1. We attended a talk on Marriage and Religion, where three married couples gave an account of how their faith and Church life had played a key role in their marriages.

Day 2 and 3
We attended talks on, “Where Sport and Religion Meet” and Day 3 on, “Technology in the Context of the Family”.

Closing Mass of World Meeting of Families Congress

Meeting families from the Philippines who spoke about their joy despite hardships suffered.

Off to Croke Park Stadium for The Festival of Families and seeing Pope Francis

And our final destination – Eucharistic celebration with Pope Francis in Phoenix Park

What an amazing experience this was! Words cannot describe our sincere gratitude for affording us this wonderful opportunity! “A Joy for All the Earth” continues to echo in our hearts! We as a family have certainly learnt much from this pilgrimage through our interactions with families from across the world. The hospitality and friendliness from the Irish was an experience on its own.

A HUGE thank you to our Dominican Sisters for their love and care during our stay!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!