San Carlos Parish teens attend conference
Members of the St. Charles Parish’s “Charlie's Angels” high school youth group were among 21,000 young people, youth ministry leaders and chaperones who attended the National Catholic Youth Conference Nov 19-21 in Kansas City, Mo. Also attending were 250 priests and 38 bishops. The participating teens donated more than $126,000, an increase of 44 percent from the conference two years ago. The funds go to the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry to support scholarships for the 2011 convention.
The St. Charles Parish contingent included Youth Minister Tami Palladino; Chaperone Joseph Logsdon, Anne Marie Palladino, 15, a sophomore at Carlmont High School in Belmont; Irena Haghighi, 16, a junior at Sequoia High School in Redwood City; Janine Penafort, 15, a sophomore at Summit High School in Redwood City; Andrew Cook, 15, a sophomore at Bellarmine College Preparatory School in San Jose; Evan Cotter, 16, a junior at St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco; and Ryan Saitta, 15, a sophomore at Bellarmine.
At the request of Catholic San Francisco, members of “Charlie’s Angels” high school youth group wrote personal reflections on their experiences at the National Catholic Youth Conference.
Irena Haghighi:
The main highlight of NCYC for me was when we had a Eucharistic procession from the Sprint Center where the main Mass was held to the Convention Center, where the activities and group discussions were. And as we were walking in the streets there were just groups of people everywhere singing, and beside us was a group praying the rosary out loud. It was amazing to see so many people in this one small area doing the same thing, and everyone just looked genuinely into it. I looked around and I saw exactly how HUGE our group was. We filled the street end to end, and there were still more people not there yet as well as on the street parallel to us. I think that really just hit it home that we were all there for the same thing and we all shared a common ground. It was just amazing. Another memory for me was when I met a group of people from Maryland. We talked, and before I left the leader of their group asked if they could pray over me. I cautiously said, “Yes,” because I have never had that done before, but it was very sweet and unexpected.
Ryan Saitta:
NCYC was like nothing I could have ever imagined. The few days before we left, I was wondering what it would be like. Never having gone before, I had no idea what to really expect, and so when we finally got to the Conference Center in Kansas City (half asleep, since we had gotten up at 4 a.m.), I was just blown away. I’d been to small “religion/spiritual” camps before, but those were like ants compared to the immensity of NCYC. I didn’t even grasp the hugeness of what I was part of until the closing Mass on Saturday night. Ever seen 20,000-plus people clap at the same time in a cross formation before? It’s amazing. But out of the three days that I was there, my favorite experience was watching two completely random girls from some youth group run up to one of our guys, Evan, give him giant hugs, and yell “Jesus loves you!” and then run off. That was like the perfect embodiment of what NCYC was about: Unity under Christ.
Andrew Cook:
For me, NCYC was an eye-opening experience. It was surprising, but in a good way, to see that there were over 20,000 people who shared the same faith as me. And not just adults – kids my age who I could actually talk to about stuff. I felt that the trip was way too short. You couldn't fully appreciate NCYC in a mere three days. The most memorable, (well two things really) was walking around what was called the “reignforest”, which was where all the booths were, and seeing all the people who were sharing the faith in camps, books, music, lectures, etc. The other was, as we walked from the Sprint Center to the Convention Center, looking both back and ahead, you could see a mass of people that seemed to go on forever, and we weren't even in the front.
Janine Penafort:
NCYC was such an amazing experience. It was so great to meet people our age from all over the country who were as kooky and devoted to the Church as we are. My favorite part of the trip would have to be when we were standing in the Sprint Center singing, dancing and clapping with Steve Angrisano. The experience of being in an arena with 20,000 other Catholics made me feel the true power and love of Jesus. I think all Catholic teens should attend NCYC because it's such an unbelievable event to be a part of. Our God is definitely an awesome God.
Anne Marie Palladino:
NCYC was very fun. I went two years ago so I knew what it would be like. It was a great experience then, but I felt this time was better because we had a bigger group. We had three girls and three boys plus our chaperones, which I felt was a good number. I loved NCYC because everyone is so friendly and you can be crazy and go up and talk to random strangers at NCYC and say, “Hey where are you from?” or hold up “free hug” signs and get a million hugs from people you don’t even know but are friends with immediately. It’s great to see how many kids have the same faith as you and the same beliefs. I felt this trip really brought me closer to God because I heard so many stories and great talks and I see ways God has influenced so many peoples’ lives. I love the gatherings with thousands of people, that’s always fun. The Mass at the end was great. Hearing so many people sing the songs blew my mind. I think the music throughout the trip was great as well. It touched me and my friends as well, and we were singing the songs the whole time coming home. The last evening prayer time with just our group was another highlight for me. We were all very close by that time and there were no interruptions. I felt really close to God at that moment.
Joseph (J.T.) Logsdon, young-adult chaperone:
None of us are strong enough to live like Jesus alone. When I think back on NCYC, I can gain strength not only from the group I went with, but also the 20,000 other people who were there, even though I may have met less than 1 percent of them. I know they were praying with me. When I need strength again, I can still pray with them even though we are all thousands of miles apart.
Tami Palladino, Youth Minister:
Our group’s evening prayer sessions revealed that there were many “breakthrough” moments for our teens when they really felt the presence of God and the “call” to live in closer relationship with Jesus. Our whole group went to Reconciliation and afterward to the prayer chapel with Eucharistic Adoration. It was a highlight for all, even though initially there was some hesitation. On Saturday morning there was Benediction in Sprint Center followed by one of the most unique experiences of all, when all those thousands of teens processed in prayer and song to the Convention Center. There was a reverence and connection among all that was truly an unforgettable and life-changing experience.
From December 11, 2009 issue of Catholic San Francisco.
