Utah World Youth Day delegation undertaking fundraising to make pilgrimage a reality

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SALT LAKE CITY — The countdown to World Youth Day is now at about 18 weeks, and the delegation from Utah that plans to attend continues to work hard to make the experience one for a lifetime.

Every three years, WYD gathers young people ages 16 to 35 from around the world for a week of evangelization and a Mass with the pope. Since it was begun in 1985 by Pope John Paul II, the event has been hosted in various countries. The 2023 event will be Aug. 1-6 in Lisbon, Portugal.

For Our Lady of Guadalupe parishioner Sofia Garay, attending this year’s WYD is a dream come true. She wanted to go to the 2019 event in Panama City, but was too young. Nevertheless, “I started helping the people that attended to raise funds,” Garay said.

When this year she received a phone call inviting her to go to WYD in Lisbon, she thought her heart would explode with joy, she said.

“This year I didn’t know what was going to happen. … We just got out of Covid, things are getting really expensive, but when Sofia Palestino called me to tell me that they were forming a Utah delegation to attend WYD, and invited me to participate, I didn’t have to think it, I immediately said yes; I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” Garay said.

Palestino and GianCarlo Gazani are the local WYD coordinators who are helping the youth with their fundraising efforts and organizing travel arrangements.

Garay is among the 20 or so Utah youth who have been raising the funds to be able to embark on a pilgrimage for the encounter with Pope Francis at WYD. The WYD delegates from Utah are from the parishes of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Cathedral of the Madeleine, both in Salt Lake City, and St. Thomas Aquinas in Logan.

From selling hot dogs in the middle of a snowstorm to preparing food to sell at different parishes, the youth have been working tirelessly to make their dream come true. They are planning a major fundraising event for April 23: a daylong fair at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.

“When I knew this was really going to happen I felt butterflies in my stomach and it’s really been a journey … but it all has been worth it,” Garay said.

“This has also made me know every single person who is participating from my parish. … It’s a lot of emotion and excitement,” she said.

Working hard to make a dream a reality is important because “when you work for it you really appreciate it more, you know all the sacrifices, you know you did all you could do to be able to accomplish this or whatever you are aiming for,” Garay said. “I know that once we are in Portugal we will know that we did everything that we could and we will appreciate it a lot  more.”

For her, being a Catholic youth and showing it to the world is very important.

“Growing up I was kind of embarrassed and shy to tell people that I was Catholic,” she said. “I didn’t feel that I was in an environment where I could say that; so having gone to a Catholic church made me feel that being a Catholic is OK, and then being fortunate enough to attend a Catholic high school (Juan Diego CHS in Draper) made me realize that our faith is really important; its just part of my identity. Being Catholic is just part of who you are.”

To help the Utah WYD delegation’s fundraising efforts, people can attend the upcoming fair or send donations directly to the participating parishes, stating that the donation is for the WYD.