West Country pilgrims at WYD Krakow #clifplymouthWYD

Joseph, Gladys and Anna pose for a selfie

Around 200 young pilgrims are here in Krakow from Clifton and Plymouth Dioceses. Jo Siedlecka caught up with three of them last night: brimming with enthusiasm - Gladys Joseph is from St Michael's Church in Shepton, Joseph Philip from Poole in Dorset and Anna Middlewick, a parishioner at St Mary the Immaculate in Falmouth.

Gladys, Joseph and Anna didn't know each other before, but they met at a few get-togethers and training days over the past year and are good friends now. They raised funds for the trip through sponsored meals, walks, jumble sales, concerts and other events. Gladys said: "Bishop Mark O'Toole cooked a special Sunday lunch one week which raised over £500."

Gladys, who is on a gap year, said this trip is the first time she has been travelling abroad without her parents. She said: "People have been so generous. We feel very blessed and we're here to make them proud." She said coming on WYD is a way of deepening her faith. "My grandfather was a strong influence on me" she said. "He was a politician and he used to take me to projects he was working on and encourage me to care about others."

An IT graduate, Joseph is now job-hunting, but really enjoying this break. He's very involved with the Spiritual Revival Ministry (SPH)- which he describes as "an energetic evangelisation group" - for a few years now, as well as being an active member of his parish. "Coming to World Youth Day make you realise how big our Church is, " he said. "It really is universal. It is wonderful to feel we are part of a big family."

Anna has just graduated from Exeter with an English and Drama degree. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do next but I know God has a plan for me" she said. Being a young Catholic in the West Country isn't so easy - simply because there aren't many Catholic living there. "I went to Church as a child but it wasn't something I felt deeply about." A turning point was when she was 14 and went to Youth 2000. "It was wonderful to meet so many other young Catholics and really explore my faith more." Anna, who is a Eucharistic Minister in her parish, says her family and her parish priests have always been very supportive."

Gladys, Joseph and Anna run the communications for their pilgrimage and are updating their Twitter and Facebook pages (with live FB) all the time. You can keep up with them here: facebook.com /clifplymWYD
#clifplymouthWYD

We hope to hear from them more at the end of this week.