World Youth Day is an international event that started in 1984, when the first gathering took place in Vatican City. The event, which was introduced by Pope St. John Paul II, is aimed at bringing together the Catholic Church’s young members. 

This year, World Youth Day will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, from Aug. 1-6. The Catholic Standard had the opportunity to interview local pilgrims from the Washington area about why they decided to participate in this faith event.

 Susan Lea from Mother Seton Parish,Germantown, Maryland

Susan Lea is the director of youth ministry at Mother Seton Parish and will be guiding nine young members of her parish on their first pilgrimage to World Youth Day. Lea, however, has attended five of the international events previously. Prior to working in youth ministry, Lea worked as a social science researcher for about 20 years. It wasn’t until the previous youth minister told her she had the “heart for youth ministry” that she considered assuming the role.

“This is the calling, and I know this is what God’s calling me to do. I have a love for the kids, and I love getting them to know Jesus because I’ve gotten to know him and I love him and I can't imagine not having him in my life. And so I want to introduce them to this beautiful God that’s going to help them through theirs,” Lea said. 

She also makes sure to distinguish that this trip is not a vacation, and that there will be trying moments during the pilgrimage. 

“I just told them the experiences that we’ve had in Spain, hiking in to the big camp out in 113 degree weather to the point that I didn’t think I had any sweat left in my body. They would take the fire hoses and hose us down because it was so hot. Then that night a cold front came through, it went from 113 to 68 degrees. Those are the things that we don’t expect that are going to happen,” Lea said.

Guiding students on their spiritual trips to World Youth Day is important to Lea, who said these young members of the Church are in a critical time in their lives. 

“This is a worldwide event where they get to see kids from all over the world, joyfully practicing their faith and love with Jesus. And they're like, ‘Hey, what school’s telling me, what this person’s telling me is not the truth, this is the truth, and this is the beauty of my faith.’ They get to see that,” Lea said.

Jacob Tumulak from Mother Seton Parish in Germantown, Maryland

A recent graduate of Clarksburg High School, Jacob Tumulak has been a lifelong member of Mother Seton Parish. For Tumulak, his trip comes as he prepares to attend Towson University in Maryland this fall.

“Now that I’ve graduated from high school, of course, I’m going to be going to college soon. The reasoning for going on the trip was strengthening my relationship with God,” Tumulak said. 

He has been preparing to embark on this trip with eight other young members of his parish for a little more than six months. Although there are many ways to practice and express faith back home, Tumulak explained why he is making the effort to travel abroad.

“The way I serve is just going to church every Sunday and altar serving, and for the most part, that’s the most I'll do. I’ll do fundraising and stuff every now and then. I’ve never gone on an actual pilgrimage, though. Some people are calling it a vacation, but it’s more tailored towards the church and strengthening that relationship,” Tumulak said.

Angel Ramos from Mother Seton Parish in Germantown, Maryland

Angel Ramos will be attending Harvard Extension School for his master’s degree in biology, and will make his move to Cambridge, Massachusetts in the fall. Ramos grew up in Rockville and attended the University of Maryland for his undergraduate degree. As a member of Mother Seton Parish since high school, Ramos has been a member of the church’s choir. 

He decided to attend World Youth Day after his mother told him about it, and he has embraced the opportunity as a chance to continue growing closer to God. 

“[Attending the event] is important because it reinforces the belief that I have for the Catholic faith. I know that when I was in college, especially the first two years, I wasn’t really involved in my Catholic faith. Thanks to a friend that I met through the Catholic Student Center at Maryland, I was able to come closer to God,” Ramos said. 

Soraya Santos from Mother Seton Parish in Germantown, Maryland

Soraya Santos was not initially interested in attending World Youth Day.

“I was actually reluctant to go at first. I didn't want to go. I was like, 'No, I feel like it’s too far. I just want to spend the summer at home.’ But I thought, ‘What am I going to do at home?’ And it’s such a great opportunity that comes once in a lifetime to see the pope, to meet all the other people that are Catholics my same age. So, I was like, ‘I need to go. I need to go,’” Santos said. 

Like many of her peers, this will be Santos’ first time traveling without a parent or family member.  Santos has been homeschooled since starting high school, which has allowed her to become more involved with her parish. She currently serves as a catechist for second graders.

“I am looking forward to meeting people the same age as me, who are also Catholics, and how they express their faith,” Santos said.

Kimberly Garcia from Mother Seton Parish in Germantown, Maryland

Kimberly Garcia recently graduated from Damascus High School in Damascus, Maryland and plans on attending Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg this fall.

“I was a bit scared of going in the first place, but then I thought, I think if I’d wanted to dive deeper into my faith, I think this would be a great opportunity. …I also thought it was for me and my parents, because I think that my parents would’ve liked me to go. So I did it for them, but then again, I did it for my faith,” Garcia said. 

Preparing for WYD is twofold; young attendees need to make sure they are spiritually prepared for the event, as well as physically ready as the trip involves a lot of walking. Garcia has been going for walks to prepare, as well as praying the rosary with her family every night.

“I'm mostly excited right now. The nervousness has already passed, but I think when we get there it’s going to hit again. I get really homesick really fast, so hopefully I don’t get homesick,” Garcia said. 

Keysi Valencia from St. Rose of Lima Parish in Gaithersburg, Maryland

Keysi Valencia is one of three pilgrims from her parish attending World Youth Day. Valencia, who currently works as a Spanish teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools, said she is looking forward to visiting the site of Our Lady of Fátima. 

“It’s always been a great thing for my family to go to Fatima. We’ve always talked about it, and I had always wanted to take my grandmother, but sadly she passed away last year. That was like another big push as to why I wanted to at least try to bring that about for her. This is a great way to work on my faith and be able to do this for her and just be able to meet other youth. That has always been a big thing. I’ve always worked with youth, I want to meet others that are also around our age that are Catholics and that we’re proud to be Catholics,” Valencia said. 

In preparation for the event, she said she has been praying with her family more and putting her focus on her relationship to God.

“I've taken [a step] back from a couple of ministries, and I’ve just tried to have a one-on-one [relationship with] God these past couple months to prepare for that. I've always been very active at church. I’ve been doing a lot of silent meditation… a lot of silent prayer, just trying to be like, just me and the big guy,” Valencia said. 

Although this is Valencia’s first time at World Youth Day and first time traveling to Europe, she said she’s already hoping to attend the following one. 

“This is my first time, but I would love to be able to go to the next one hopefully, if the opportunity presents itself. I hope that this also helps the young adult ministry at my church, because it’s not really that big,” Valencia said. “I really hope that this does help somehow to bring about more youth to, to kinda show up.”

Ogechi Akalegbere from St. Rose of Lima Parish in Gaithersburg, Maryland

Ogechi Akalegbere is the director of youth and young adult ministry at St. Rose of Lima Parish. Her preparation for the World Youth Day pilgrimage has included speaking with her spiritual director and therapist. 

“They’ve been really walking with me before this and kind of like allowing me to set realistic expectations and allowing the Holy Spirit in it. I think that’s an interesting concept. I don’t really hear people talking about using therapy and spiritual direction to compare them for a pilgrimage. I’m happy to share that unique perspective,” Akalegbere said.

She will be traveling to World Youth Day with Keysi Valencia and another young woman, and she said their small parish cohort has grown closer.

“I feel like between the three of us we’ll figure it out. I can help them in the spiritual aspect, and it’s cool because my role is youth and young adult ministry, and I feel like sometimes the young adult ministry portion of my job can be neglected a bit. Even though I’m going for myself, I still am expecting to act a bit like a spiritual guide for them, because that’s my job. If they can help me with the logistics, then I can do the spiritual guidance and that’s all balance," Akalegbere said. 

Although an estimated three million people will attend World Youth Day, Akalegbere said that if she had a close encounter with Pope Francis, she would probably tell him “God bless you.” 

“I feel like he probably praises and blesses people constantly, and I don’t know how many people would say it to him. I always do that when I’m around a priest because they’re blessing us,” Akalegbere said. “If I’m like mentally together, I would thank him for his advocacy around social justice and [tell him] that his encyclicals have really inspired my faith the last few years.”