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‘God is truly alive’

Young people from St. James parish in Concord and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Charlotte hold up flags of their home countries in Lisbon, Portugal for World Youth Day. A tradition of the week-long event, pilgrims hold flags of their native lands as they come together, showing the true universality of the Catholic Church. (Provided photos)CHARLOTTE — Alongside an estimated 1.5 million others from across the globe, young people from five parishes in the Diocese of Charlotte made the pilgrimage to Lisbon, Portugal, last week for World Youth Day 2023.

Groups from St. James in Concord, St. Joseph in Kannapolis, St. Mary’s in Greensboro, and St. Basil the Great Eastern Catholic and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Charlotte were all in attendance for the historical event. They were among 30,000 pilgrims from the United States.

“It was an eye-opening experience to see all the young people from different countries showing their love and devotion for Christ,” said Vicente Capistrano, a youth leader at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. “I especially loved hearing prayers that I know in Spanish and English in different languages like Portuguese, Slovak, French and Italian. I’ll never forget how beautiful it was! You could see the sky with all the different flags from all over the world. God is truly alive.”

Every four years, young people from across the globe gather for World Youth Day, a week-long experience to deepen their faith, witness the universality of the Catholic Church, and commit their lives to Christ alongside hundreds of thousands of like-minded peers. Since the first World Youth Day in Rome in 1986, started by then Pope John Paul II, millions of youth continue to gather and share their love of Christ.

During his homily at this year’s closing Mass, Pope Francis said, “Let’s all repeat this phrase in our hearts: ‘Don’t be afraid.’ Jesus knows the hearts of each one of you, the successes and the failures. He knows your hearts,” Pope Francis said. “And today He tells you, here in Lisbon for this World Youth Day: ‘Don’t be afraid.’”

Twenty-five young people from St. James the Greater Parish in Concord who attended World Youth Day were inspired by the pope’s words. To get to Lisbon, for months they had worked organizing bake sales, raffles and other fundraisers.

“The Lord brought us there for one reason: to praise and share His name with others,” said youth group member Angel Vásquez, 18.

The most valuable part of the experience? “Sharing in our faith and love of Christ with so many young people around the world,” Vásquez said. “We could feel the love of God.”

For fellow youth group member Aracely Castro, 22, this was her second World Youth Day – and it was just as amazing an experience for her as the first one.

As a young adult, “one gets distracted by what happens in life, at work, at school,” Castro said. That makes it difficult for a young person to surrender to God’s plans.

“But when I arrived in Lisbon and let everything go away, I gave myself over completely and I felt an immense peace, as if God had stayed with me,” she said. “I was able to find myself – to find Jesus within me – and I understood how He works and continues to work within my life.”

The next World Youth Day will be held in Seoul, South Korea, in 2027.

 —  Spencer K.M. Brown & César Hurtado

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