We shook hands with a German soldier and conversed with Russian media.

We offered the kiss of peace to Italians, danced our praises with Spaniards and hugged a Venezuelan of few English words.

We sang hymns with Aussies, chanted with the Poles and Brazilians, walked with Canadians of French-speaking Quebec, and, most powerful of all, we prayed with the world.

Not just a dream of an ideal spiritual experience, but in fact the reality of World Youth Day, a gathering of 800,000 Catholics (at the papal Mass), held in celebration of faith, hope, peace, love, charity and, of course, the beloved pope, John Paul II.

When we returned late last Monday night, I was amazed to walk into my home and see the stack of World Youth Day articles that the Bangor Daily News had published. In light of this, I cannot call what I offer “news” but rather my own perspective as one of the 300-plus Maine young people who participated in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Each morning, we had the chance to attend catechesis, or a teaching session, and also Mass. The Mass, which was held in a large warehouse-type building, is essentially a celebration of Jesus’ life, death and Resurrection, in the form of a nearly 2,000-year-old ceremony. Concurrently, somewhere around 20 Masses were held daily in order to accommodate the youth who enthusiastically wanted to attend.

Like the rest of the week, the ceremonies were youthful, fast-paced and loud, evoking a spirit of joy and inspiring many to clap and dance. The level of involvement was incredible. At one point during a song sung by Steve Angrisano, who has performed at other statewide conventions, every one of the 70 to 100 priests on the large altar stood up to join in the dancing and praising.

After each morning session, the hundreds of thousands of foreign youth were given free time to sightsee or to attend one of several simultaneous events that occurred at sites around Toronto. The same purple passes that served as our IDs and ticket into the Exhibition Place, where morning Mass and catechesis were held, also gave us unlimited access to the metro and streetcars, where much “mingling” with locals and other youth took place.

One aspect that surprised my youth group, from St. Matthew’s of Hampden, was the unconditional patience and friendliness of the Toronto residents. Everywhere we went we were greeted by smiles and a warm “welcome to Toronto,” even when we flooded the subways during morning rush hour.

“My son said the city will be sad to see them leave,” said Julie, a native of southern Ontario (whom I met in line to use the restroom) whose son lives in the city. “He likes having the WYD pass because it gives him an excuse to talk to the people on the subway.”

The most exciting part of the pilgrimage was the appearance of Pope John Paul on three occasions, the first of which began July 25 in the exhibition place. This was the papal welcome, which included a flag procession representing more than 100 countries in attendance.

Even though we had our prime spot staked out by 9:30 in the morning, by 12:30 the pavement was packed with blankets and people, all waiting in the humidity to see our pope, who would not be arriving until several hours later.

“I’ve never seen so many kids get excited by an old guy with a cane and Parkinson’s,” said a young man standing next to me in the crowd. This was clearly evident, however, by the multilingual cheers, posters and flags, crying and waving in unison in a desire to see what Catholics believe to be the earthly representation of Christ.

Most lined the fences that created the path on which the pope’s vehicle would pass. Many around us were already crying before he approached, but as the cheers grew louder, an intense spirit of joy and rejuvenation, the mutual effect between the crowd and JP (the nickname the youth gave John Paul), overwhelmed me. Even I was moved to tears.

The second and third appearances took place Saturday night during our vigil, and Sunday morning in the closing Mass. Our group lovingly nicknamed the Saturday night vigil “popestock” after the Woodstock-style field, makeshift shelter and tons of regional instruments that could be heard singing together.

We faced a range of weather extremes Saturday and Sunday: heat while we journeyed the eight miles on foot to Downsview Park, our vigil site, to cold and rain during the few hours we slept that night in our blankets.

But not even heat exhaustion or torrential rain could deter us or keep the waves of locals from entering around 4 or 5 in the morning, preparing for Mass with JP.

Nor could it keep the tired pope from addressing us with emphasis, power and much love during Mass Sunday morning.

Among many subjects that he touched upon during his homily, one was a call to fatherhood: for all men to be leaders in the home, in prayer and by example. This fatherhood could be spiritual or physical, both of which JP believes are essential to a healthy world. Another topic discussed was the call to vocations.

“Do not be afraid to follow Christ on the royal road of the cross,” JP said. This, to many teen-agers, means to ignore the harassing and tormenting that is involved in being a true follower of Christ, and the challenge of consistently doing the right thing.

“To have the full support and prayer of the church is very encouraging,” said one Maine youth. “Now we can take this strength and courage and apply it to daily life.”

And apply it we will. The world now has 800,000 more inspired, more joyful and more prayerful youth, bonded and strengthened by their unity in faith, in each other and in Christ.

Erica Maltz, 17, will be a senior this fall at Hampden Academy.