Celebran aniversario como sacerdotes

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SALT LAKE CITY — The diocesan Youth and Young Adult Ministry has  planned a busy fall season. In addition to organizing the youth component of the Utah Catholic Conference on Sept. 21, it is sponsoring three youth rallies across the Wasatch Front.

The first two rallies are an outgrowth of the diocesan Blessed Carlo Acutis apostolate, which was established last year to help youth experience the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The first rally will take place Oct. 5 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Kearns; the second on Nov. 2 at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Magna.  

The apostolate has obtained two first-class relics of young saints and will soon have a third. Father Gustavo Vidal, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish and director of the apostolate, will travel to Mexico this month to obtain a relic of St. Jose Sanchez Del Rio that will become part of the apostolate’s permanent collection. Last year the diocese obtained a first-class relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis; earlier this year it acquired a first-class relic of St. Maria Goretti.

Each rally will focus on the examples of Blessed Carlo Acutis, St. Maria Goretti and St. Jose Sanchez Del Rio in living their faith. They will offer a full day of activities for youth from the two parishes along with other youth from across the diocese who would like to attend. The events will include a Mass celebrated by Fr. Vidal, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and veneration of the relics along with presentations about the three saints. Fr. Vidal will also speak about how living the faith can help youth who struggle with isolation, depression or suicidal ideation.

“Suicide is not the way to go,” said Michael Edwards, director of the diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. “We hope to use these saints as role models for the way we really should live our lives and turn away from dangers and pitfalls that could lead us down the wrong path.”

Each of the three young saints who will be discussed endured great trials that tested them, he said. Blessed Carlo Acutis, an Italian website designer who documented Eucharistic miracles, was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 15 and lost his life to the disease within weeks of his diagnosis. St. Maria Goretti was assaulted and raped at the age of 12; she forgive her attacker rather than carry hatred of him as she died. St. Jose Sanchez Del Rio was persecuted for refusing to deny his faith and ultimately was tortured and executed at the age of 13 by the Mexican government.

 Each of them had attributes the youth can learn from, Edwards said. “When you take the Eucharist, and you take forgiveness, and you take faith, and add those three things together, I think you have a pretty good combination for examples for our youth.”

Both Edwards and Fr. Vidal hope that the youth will draw strength from the rallies and that they will realize “how important they are and how important their faith is, and not to be afraid to live their faith and express their faith,” Edwards said.

Event organizers hope the youth will gain inspiration from the examples of the three young saints and also make connections with each other at the rallies, which are free and open to everyone.

“One of the keys to the rallies is to let the youth in the Salt Lake City diocese know that there’s other teens out there that are Catholic, that have the same passions as they do, that have the same desires they do, and have the same struggles,” Edwards said. “If we can start to associate more and more teens with each other, maybe lines of communication will open up. They’ll have more friends that are like them, like-minded and faithful, and they can rely on them when times are difficult.”

The Youth and Young Adult Ministry is sponsoring another youth rally for middle-school students (ages 12 to 15), which will be held Saturday, Oct. 12 at Holy Family Catholic Church in Ogden. This event will be put on by Equipping the Saints, an organization that exists to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” according to its website.  

Along with speakers EQ Saints vice president Robert Feduccia and Catholic music artist Noelle Garcia, the rally will include the Scally Brothers and hip-hop artist Joe Melendrez.

“EQ saints is inspiring the youth about sacramental life and how important their faith is to them,” Edwards said. “They have been extremely popular in the other places throughout the United States, so we feel very fortunate to have them come to Utah.”

The early bird price for the daylong rally, which will include lunch, is $49.50 through Sept. 26; after that it will be $59.50. For information or to register, visit the diocesan website at https://www.dioslc.org.

WHAT: Youth Rally

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 2

WHERE: The Oct. 5 rally will be at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church,  4501 West 5215 South, Kearns

 The Nov. 2 rally will be at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 2840 South 9000 West, Magna

Both of these rallies are free. For information or to register, visit the diocesan website at https://www.dioslc.org.

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WHAT: Rally for Middle-school Students

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 12

WHERE: Holy Family Catholic Church, 1100 East 5550 South, Ogden

 The early bird price for the daylong rally, which will include lunch, is $49.50 through Sept. 26; after that it will be $59.50. For information or to register, visit the diocesan website at https://www.dioslc.org.