Senior figures from Spain's Catholic Church and more than 500 Spanish youths flocked to St Christopher's Cathedral in Manuka yesterday as part of World Youth Day celebrations.
Cardinal Antonio Mari{aac}a Rouco Varela, who is also Archbishop of Madrid, conducted the mass, and spoke about the importance of keeping the Catholic faith alive among the younger generation.
He stressed the importance of Pope Benedict's role in the Church.
The fact the mass was conducted in Spanish proved no obstacle to the Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn, Mark Coleridge, who received raucous applause after addressing the congregation at length in fluent Spanish. Archbishop Coleridge studied and lived in Spain for a few months, and also speaks fluent Italian. Archbishop Coleridge welcomed the pilgrims to Canberra and ended with words that even non-Spanish speakers understood, ''Hasta la vista en Sydney''. Outside church he said it had been unfortunate media attention had focused in recent weeks on allegations of sexual abuse by clergymen, instead of on the message of World Youth Day.
''The hospitality that pilgrims from all over the world have received is the real story,'' he said. ''It's the human contact between pilgrims and locals, and it is mutually enriching.''
The Spanish contingent was in Melbourne since last week, and will join about 4500 other Spanish pilgrims in Sydney today to continue the celebrations, which they know as Jornada Mundial de la Juventud.
One pilgrim, Dagmara Gawlik, 18, said it was a unique experience to meet people from all over the world who shared her faith.
''It has been quite emotional, because it has shown me that I'm not alone,'' she said.
It had been a busy 48 hours for St Christopher's, which hosted Italian and French masses on Sunday. A French television crew attended the French mass and broadcast it live. Ms Gawlik came with other youths from her parish, but had made many new friends since arriving in Australia.
World Youth Day events have cost the Canberran taxpayer nearly $90,000.
The ACT Government said it had spent $88,000 on Canberra events in the lead-up to World Youth Day.
Pilgrims benefited from $27,000 of free bus travel, including chartered ACTION buses which took them to a special World Youth Day mass at Exhibition Park on Saturday.
The park cost the Government $41,000 to hire.
An estimated 10,000 people converged on the park to worship, with 16 bishops and priests.
The Government also sponsored a group of East Timorese pilgrims on their journey to Canberra and Sydney at a cost of $16,000.
The Government printed travel guides and hosted a public reception for the World Youth Day cross at the Legislative Assembly in February.
ACT Tourism staff set up an information stall for worshippers at Exhibition Park.