By Vincent Morello
World Youth Day (WYD) pilgrims from Australia have made a journey to Rome to present Pope Benedict XVI with an Aboriginal message stick that symbolically protected him during his stay in Sydney.
Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell led 65 Catholics to Rome for a ceremony with Pope Benedict in which he handed over the cross and icon used at the Sydney event.
After celebrating Palm Sunday mass in St Peter's Square, the Pope passed the items - akin to the torch used in the Olympic Games - to a Spanish delegation.
Madrid will host the next WYD in 2011.
WYD in Sydney took place over six days last July and attracted more than 125,000 international pilgrims.
The 3.8m cross and the portrait travelled around Australia for a year before the Sydney celebration - in a style similar to the Olympic torch relay.
Pope Benedict attended a series of events in Sydney, which culminated with a papal mass for approximately 500,000 people at Royal Randwick Racecourse.
Darwin indigenous youth leader and educator Mark Heiss, 27, was one of the Australians who helped carry the icon, which is a portrait of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus.
He said the handover ceremony was both a sad and joyful experience for the Australian delegation.
"I was very proud and privileged to play such a significant part in carrying the icon of Our Lady," Mr Heiss told AAP from Rome.
"It was bittersweet because it was a little bit sad, but we could hear the cheers of the Spanish people in the crowd and we could see the smiles on their faces."
Mr Heiss will present the Pope on Wednesday morning local time with the Aboriginal message stick that accompanied the cross and icon during their Australian journey.
Mr Heiss will be joined by Sydney resident Alfio Stuto, who played Jesus in the dramatisation of the stations of the cross during WYD.
"On behalf of my people I get to present a gift to the Holy Father, thanking him for World Youth Day and asking that he'll keep the message stick as a memento," Mr Heiss said.
The message stick represented an invitation to young people to come together and helped ensure safe passage when travelling across the lands of different Aboriginal nations.
Mr Heiss said the stick also acted as a protector for the Pope during his trip to Australia.
"I'm very Catholic and I also respect and pay tribute to my indigenous ancestors and my spirituality with regards to my Aboriginality," he said.