World Youth Day had impact on Columbus Latinos group

After attending World Youth Day 2023, which was celebrated Aug. 1-6 in Lisbon, Portugal, the Columbus Latinos to World Youth Day group can attest that the Catholic Church is alive.

The group spent a week participating in World Youth Day, which was started by Pope St. John Paul II in 1986 in Rome and takes place every few years, drawing young Catholics from across the world. 

Fathers David Arroyo and Victor Cano, parochial vicars  at Powell St. Joan of Arc and Columbus St. Peter churches, accompanied the Columbus Latinos group and served as spiritual fathers to them.

“Portugal was a moment to renew my commitment to the Church and allow all to know that the Church is alive,” Father Cano said. “One of the memorable moments was the closing (ceremony) and especially the last Mass. 

“Celebrating the Mass with all the priests in the world was incredible. Also, … seeing these young people, their love for Mary, her prayers, and also having concelebrated (Mass) in the church.”

Father Arroyo said concelebrating the Masses was a highlight of the trip.

“Everything was like brand new for me,” he said. “I had the chance to concelebrate the Mass – two Masses – with many priests around me, and I think, for me, that marked my experience there, to have the opportunity to celebrate the Mass with the pope the last day and to hear many languages in the celebration of the Eucharist. 

“For me, it was a good experience … to see the universal Church, many faces of the Church.”

Preceding World Youth Day 2023, the “Days in the Diocese” was held from July 26-31. The gathering integrates young people into Portugal’s dioceses, allowing participants to become acquainted with the region and the local Church.

The Columbus Latinos to World Youth Day group, which consisted of 21 members, received a $9,000 grant from The Catholic Foundation for the trip, said Lisset Mendoza, director of the diocesan Office for Hispanic Ministry. 

More than 50% of travel costs were raised through local events and donations from parishioners, she said, so the group did not have to pay full price for the trip.

Members of the Columbus Latinos to World Youth Day group attend Columbus St. Cecilia, Christ the King, Holy Name/Parroquia Santa Cruz, St. Peter, St. Stephen the Martyr and St. Thomas the Apostle parishes.

“Within our group, there was so much diversity because we were representing the U.S., which is where we were all coming from,” said Alma Vera, who served as a group leader and is the office manager at Christ the King. “We’re also representing our origins. We all come from different Hispanic and Latin countries, so we had the Mexican flag. 

“We had people from Colombia in our group. We had people from El Salvador in our group. It’s a very common thing at World Youth Day for everybody to have the flag from their country. Also, at the same time, there are people chanting or praising the Lord in each of their own languages.  

“There was just this sense of we’re all in unity together, each with their own language, which is so beautiful to see how different we are but how united we come in our faith.”

“It was very joyful to see many young people in love with their faith, and they were all excited and happy and dancing and singing people from all over the world,” said Angelica De Leon, who was part of the Columbus Latinos group and is the office manager and director of the Parish School of Religion at St. Thomas the Apostle.

“One of the parts that I really loved from the Masses was that, at the time you say ‘peace,’ everybody will say ‘peace’ to you in their languages, and that was something I’ll never forget.”

The week in Lisbon began with an accidental encounter, which led to celebrating Mass with Bishop Denis Jean-Marie Jachiet, the bishop of Belfort-Montbéliard, France, who previously served as the auxiliary bishop of Paris.

The Columbus Latinos group was preparing to celebrate Mass with Father Arroyo and Father Cano in the conference room of their hotel, when the bishop entered the room.

“Somehow, (he) found out we were having a Mass, (which) we had just scheduled that same day just a couple hours prior, and just goes and celebrates Mass for us, and he was from France, but he also happened to speak Spanish and English, which, of course, was so fitting for our group,” Vera said. 

“And then, we found out later, he was on his way to a Mass. He got confused on the hotel, and that’s how he ended up at ours. … That was such a beautiful gift from the Lord.”

The group participated in various events throughout the week. The first was the opening Mass on Aug. 1. 

The welcome ceremony with Pope Francis took place Aug. 3, and Stations of the Cross with the pope was held the following day.

There was also a U.S. national gathering, De Leon said, in which all of the pilgrims from the U.S. gathered in a park.

“Our bishop was there – Bishop Fernandes – he stopped by and said, ‘Hi,’ to the group,” she said. “Also, the seminarians were there – the seminarians from the Diocese (of Columbus) – and there was a lot of people. 

“Seeing the diversity in the Church in the United States … right now, it’s very bilingual. Even the talks and then the music for this event were bilingual, so we were saying this represents our group very well.”

An evening prayer vigil was held on Saturday, in which all of the pilgrims gathered and camped outside overnight, awaiting the missioning Mass with Pope Francis on Sunday morning, which concluded World Youth Day.

“Most of the events during the week were central in the city,” Vera said. “People were all spread out, all at different churches, parks, big areas, for the most part. 

“On Saturday night, the pope arrives and spends some time with the pilgrims, leading Adoration, and there’s musical performances, and then people are camping out until the morning the next day with the closing Mass.”

Bishop Fernandes described attending his first World Youth Day as “phenomenal.” 

“It was great to see 1.5 million young people in Lisbon,” he said. “It gives me great hope for the future. I spent a day with the seminarians in Fatima, which was very moving for me. Two moments of Eucharistic Adoration were also powerful. 

“One was the American gathering in the park, with the bishops and faithful of our country adoring the Lord. Bishop (Robert) Barron (of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota) and Bishop (Edward) Burns (of the Diocese of Dallas)  led the activities. That was the moment where I was able (at least briefly) to be with the pilgrims from Columbus together. 

“The other moment was the vigil with the pope; the silence was most impressive, and the pope reminded us that nothing in life is free except the love of Jesus!”

Meliza Saucedo, a member of the Columbus Latinos group, said the vigil was memorable for her, too.

“It was a very eye-opening experience, for sure, sharing that sleeping space with other youth from other countries, with other priests, with other religious sisters. … When opening my eyes (it was) like, ‘Oh, wow. People are already dancing,’” she said. “It was awesome to see that type of energy.”

Saucedo said the experience was an “adventure” and allowed her to take risks, placing herself in new and uncomfortable situations, such as sleeping under a bridge for the vigil.

“All these risks have added value to the experience, and because of that, I came back more convicted, and there was more clarity in what God’s plan is for me individually,” she said.

 The theme for World Youth Day 2023 was “Mary arose and went with haste” (Luke 1:39), which was chosen by Pope Francis because the quote, which recounts the Visitation, presents the Blessed Mother as a woman of charity and a missionary.

The pope emphasized that young people need to be missionaries, active in evangelization and witnessing to “the presence of the living Christ.”

The Columbus Latinos to World Youth Day group heeded the pope’s advice.

“We must be missionaries; it’s not something for us to keep but to share with others,” De Leon said. “I want that to be my mission for life: to share joy with others, to share my love for Christ with others.”

Myra Huddleston, who serves on the missionary staff at Damascus Catholic Mission Campus in Knox County and served as one of the group leaders, agreed with the pope’s sentiments.

“One thing that God has put on my heart is that, these people who went, we can’t just stay there,” she said. “The Lord put on my heart that we need to send them out to serve, to really go back and give to their parishes and their community.”

Huddleston, who participated in three previous World Youth Days, also enjoyed Pope Francis’ words this year on the love Christ has for each person.

“The pope’s homily, in the opening ceremony, in Spanish he said, ‘Unique is His heartbeat for you. You were called because He loved you,’ and he said, He loves me for who I am, not for who I desire to be, because I think we all desire to be greater. We all desire to be holier. We all desire to be virtuous, … (but) He’s uniquely called me here, (which) was really impactful for me.”

The group said that Pope Francis also urged young people to “be not afraid.” The pope’s words were particularly consoling for Saucedo.

“After that, moving forward and being back in Ohio, I’m not going to be afraid, and I’m going to continue taking risks, either in my faith or what I’m going to do in a professional way,” she said.

The Columbus Latinos to World Youth Day group also grew in love for the Blessed Virgin Mary during their time in Lisbon.

Vera said one of her biggest takeaways was how she feels “called to continue honoring Our Lady and continue growing in my own love and devotion for her.”

“I was reminded all throughout the week of that dependence on our Blessed Mother and how she cared for us so well. One of the joys of going as a group leader, … it was so visibly evident how much our group bonded and grew in relationship to each other and together and developed those friendships.”

Father Arroyo also witnessed how World Youth Day brought the group together.

“For our group, I saw a movement,” he said. “At the beginning, the group was very shy, very quiet, but by the last day, or two days before the ending of the trip, all of the group, we saw each other differently, like a family. 

“I think, for me, this is a fruit from this pilgrimage, this World Youth Day. This group now, we see each other in a different way.”