Utah Catholics excited about 2016 World Youth Day

Friday, Aug. 21, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s youth have begun preparations for the next World Youth Day, which will be held in Krakow, Poland next July. 

Samantha Almanza, diocesan director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, is leading a group, open to any young adults 18 or older, to the week-long youth conference in Krakow. 

“I think it’s important for young adults to attend World Youth Day because it’s an opportunity to get an international perspective of practicing their faith,” she said, “The energy level at the conference will enable us to come back and more faithfully live out the Gospel.”

Almanza’s group is limited to 40 people, and those interested must contact her by Dec. 1, “because they need to start fundraising for the amount needed to attend, which is about $3,000,” she said. 

Although the diocesan group will only attend the official conference, a second group led by Dominican Father Lukasz Misko, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center at the University of Utah, is planning a pilgrimage from July 16 to August 9 in conjunction with World Youth Day. 

“For this pilgrimage, I am combining the best things I’ve ever done into one trip,”  said Fr. Lukasz, who is originally from Poland: The week before the conference, the group will backpack 120 miles along the Polish section of the Camino de Santiago, a medieval pilgrimage trail, camping and staying at churches and parish centers. 

Once the group reaches Krakow, they will attend World Youth Day, which Fr. Lukasz calls “an amazing gathering with people from all over who pray together, make friends, and just breathe in the Catholic air.” 

The third segment of the trip will begin in Rome to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Dominican order, which is “obviously very important to me as a Dominican,” said Fr. Lukasz. The group will retrace St. Dominic’s journey through Italy, in reverse, ending at St. Dominic’s birthplace, Bologna. 

The trip has attracted the attention of many Newman Center young adults, among them Sam Quinan, a University of Utah PhD student, who has considered attending World Youth Day for a number a years, he said. 

“I think part of the decision for me is that I’ve grown close enough to this community for it to really be a meaningful trip,” said Quinan, adding that he is looking forward to seeing Pope Francis at World Youth Day because the pontiff’s “message of Christian love and human dignity is really something I can get behind.” 

“The conference will be a special time for the larger Catholic young adult community, and I hope that a trip like this will help me grow closer to God, in terms of my own prayer life and my own participation within the religion,” he said. 

Erin Dickson, a new teacher at St. John the Baptist Middle School, had decided to attend World Youth Day prior to Fr. Lukasz’s pilgrimage plan, but was excited by the prospect of seeing more of Europe and visiting holy sites. 

“About two years ago, I experienced a re-awakening of my faith, motivating me to pray more, and to build more community with other people in the Church,” she said, “It has inspired me to discover more about my faith and to take more opportunities to deepen it.”

Dickson said she is looking forward to a new spiritual experience encountering Christ at the 2016 World Youth Day, and hopes that her “own heart will be opened to new experiences and anything that the Lord wants to bring to my attention.” 

Although the World Youth Day conference invites individuals ages 16-35, the two Salt Lake City groups are limiting the minimum age to 18 due to liability issues. 

Almanza encouraged youth to participate in Krakow’s World Youth Day, saying attendees “will be able to participate in the celebration of the Eucharist, to grow in faith, and see their pope. It will be an experience like none other.”

For more information, contact Samantha Almanza at samantha.almanza@dioslc.org or visit  http://stcatherineslc.org/.