With the 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne now closed, a group of Hispanic Australian youths from Sydney have expressed their hope that the event will see some improvements when it is held in their city in 2008.

The group of youths admitted they felt a little scared at times walking through the overcrowded streets and train stations.

“I got really scared in the station,” said Erica Reyna, 22, a Salvadoran-Australian, reported Catholic Online. “They were crowding so many people onto the platforms, and pilgrims were pushing you all over the place,” he said.

“Trains kept rushing past at top speed, especially the fast ICE trains that did not stop in Cologne. I was very worried that I would get pushed onto the rail tracks,” he said.

Mr Reyna expressed his belief that the Sydney public transport system would cope better but said of Cologne’s that “they just didn’t have enough space available to cater to such masses”.

He also criticised the papal Mass site at Marienfeld for its lack of control and supervision over the thousands of youth who took part in the event.

“During Mass, people were lighting up cigarettes, and I also saw some drinking beer. This kind of stuff really interferes with your ability to concentrate on prayer, and it shouldn’t happen.”

He added: “Perhaps in Sydney we can somehow make sure that [staff] are on site to remind people that this is a gathering of spiritual magnitude and not just a party to come and have a good time at.”

Cheryl Gahona, 21, an immigrant from Chile living in Sydney, expressed her hope that the site of the event would be held a little closer to the city centre the next time. Marienfeld, a former open-cast mine, is situated 15 miles away from the centre of Cologne.

She said: “I also think we should have the [staff] checking the assigned spaces so that you won’t arrive after hours of trying to get there, only to find that your space has been taken and you have nowhere to sleep.

“I think we in Sydney need to learn from Cologne’s problems and make sure this does not happen there.”

She also recommended that information on Masses be given in different languages each day: “I would have liked something like that in Cologne, but the multilingual offerings were those where Masses or rosaries were held in many languages at once, like one mystery each being prayed in each language.”

Evelyn Cisneros, 17, whose family emigrated to Sydney from El Salvador, also suggested that more events be organised for young Catholics still unsure about their faith or believers who are not yet practicing.

She said: “I would like to invite those youths who are not yet practicing their faith to come and join us so we can give testimony of our life for Christ and invite them to try it out with us during World Youth Day.”

World Youth Day ended on Sunday with a special Mass by the Pope in which he called for unity among Catholics and warned the 800,000-strong crowd that Catholicism was not a “consumer product”, from which followers could not just pick and choose the parts that suited them while ignoring the rest.

He also told the crowd: “Do not be deterred from taking part in Sunday Mass, and help others to discover it too.

“Religion constructed on a do-it-yourself basis cannot ultimately help us. It may be comfortable but at times of crisis we are left to ourselves.”

The group of Sydney youths expressed their delight that WYD 2008 would be held in their city.