CT PHOTOS/E.L. HUBBARD

Teens were excited to be able to share in the international celebration.

Midwest teens experience WYD in Sidney

By David Eck

SIDNEY DEANERY — It had all the elements of World Youth Day 2008, right down to the host city’s name, Sidney. Only this was Ohio, not Sydney, Australia.

From plenty of live Christian music to the quiet solace of Eucharistic Adoration, about 600 teens and their adult chaperons experienced World Youth Day without traveling halfway around the globe at an event July 19-20 at Lehman High School which corresponded with the vigil and closing Mass in Australia. The event, organized by dioceses in Ohio and Michigan, drew people from across both states.

"They’ve been jumping into meeting each other and singing with all their hearts," said Cindee Case, director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio. "They were moving from group to group so they could be with other ones."

Starting with a welcome and opening prayer by Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk of Cincinnati on Saturday morning, the weekend featured prayer, catechetical breakout sessions, Reconciliation and plenty of time for socializing. Toledo Bishop Leonard Blair presided at Benediction, and an evening Mass was celebrated by Bishop Daniel Conlon of Steubenville.

Like their counterparts in Sydney, Australia, teens wore special WYD tee-shirts.

In order to more closely connect with the pilgrims in Australia, television feeds of World Youth Day events from the international gathering were shown on Sunday.

"We wanted to try to replicate many of the facets of World Youth Day," Case said. ‘’It is such a great opportunity for people to come together and experience the larger sense of church. I want them to feel more of a connection with the Holy Spirit."

Archbishop Pilarczyk reminded the teens that traveling to World Youth Day is a pilgrimage, regardless of whether they came a long distance or short. He spoke of how we are continually moving toward Jesus.

"Our travel as part of this gathering has a religious dimension," Archbishop Pilarczyk said. "Please do not underestimate the importance of the journey you are engaged in. We are all called to keep moving toward the Lord and bringing others along with us."

The pilgrims came from 10 dioceses throughout Ohio and Michigan.

During a lively 90-minute presentation, Mike Patin, a Catholic conference presenter, had the teens laughing and singing as he shared such life lessons as dealing with peer pressure, lying and staying true to one’s values. He told the teens that God isn’t just in a tabernacle and encouraged them to include God in their lives.

"The Holy Spirit is the part of God that unites us. He’s going to give us influence," Patin said. "He wants to be a part of real, young lives. He wants to be included in the real. We’ve got to be a people who pray."

Patin left a positive influence on Cindy Gonzalez, a parishioner at St. Gabriel Parish in Berrien Springs, Mich.

"He had a pretty good attitude," she said. "He related everyday things to religion, how to include it."

In the afternoon, teens attended catechetical sessions, socialized, and spent time meeting new friends from other areas. The fields were filled with teens tossing Frisbees and listening to live music. Small groups of teens talked together.

"It’s so encouraging to see them having a good time," Bishop Blair said. "That means for them faith and membership in the church is a positive experience."

Inside the school, other teens were in the chapel at eucharistic adoration, kneeling in prayer or quietly writing in journals. In the hallway, still more youths lined up for Reconciliation.

At the Mass, Bishop Conlon, a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati who was formerly pastor at Holy Redeemer Church in nearby New Bremen, spoke about how difficult it is for us to comprehend God’s world. The Holy Spirit allows us to communicate with God, he said.

"We received that Holy Spirit (through baptism and confirmation)," he said. "It’s not something you have to go out and find. You will be amazed at how much of God’s world you will know and understand."

Preliminary planning for the event began in the fall of 2006 and intensified over the past year. It was the first time dioceses in the two states worked together on a youth event, organizers said.

Kaitlin Ducham, a parishioner from Good Shepherd Parish in Montrose, Mich., said the weekend re-energized her faith, which is why she wanted to attend.

"I think this is an experience of a lifetime," she said. "It helps you to know where you stand with God. It really makes you feel better about yourself."

Parish and school youth groups processed into the Mass with banners that bore their name.