Catholic Youth Day is a yearly event that brings hundreds of young people throughout the Diocese together to celebrate their faith. This year due to the COVID-19 crisis, the event went virtual on Saturday, May 30 on the diocese YouTube channel.
“We asked our young people to make it their own,” said Lucia Morales, Secretariat for Evangelization and Specialist for Catholic Youth Ministry Initiative, “there was so much energy and positive feedback, we had over 500 youth participating in the event.”
The celebration kicked off with a lively introduction from emcee/DJ Brandon welcoming all to the first virtual Catholic Youth Day. Similar to past youth days, there was shared music, prayer and presentations from youth ministers. Fr. Henry Torres, priest at St. Sebastian in Woodside, Queens gave the motivational keynote address.
“Fr. Henry Torres’ talk on the triumph was excellent, it connected with all of us,” said Youth Ministry Coordinator Peter Damour, of St. Clare Roman Catholic Church. “Fr. Torres reminded us that our gifts are not for us, but for others. Our gifts are for the building of the kingdom of God, here on earth… this is how we encounter and sense the Spirit that dwells within all of us.”
The celebration was such a success that other virtual events are anticipated before the end of the year.
Catholic Youth Day 2020 was dedicated to the memory of Fr. Jorge Ortis-Garay who had passed away in March from COVID-19. Fr. Jorge was an advocate for youth programs in the Diocese and was scheduled to be this year’s keynote speaker.
To view the full program on YouTube: GO HERE: https://youtu.be/bOiIpJb41zc