The National Catholic Youth Conference, also known as NCYC, was in Indianapolis, Indiana, this year. Held from November 17 to November 19,  NCYC is a biennial, three day retreat, where students and their chaperones can spend a few days in prayer, liturgy, and reconciliation. There are also other exciting activities like concerts, exhibits, and even an interactive thematic park.  NCYC attendees include scores of high school students, many of whom are just starting to connect with God.  Bishop Doherty said, “I sometimes muse that it has become too difficult to become a Catholic, too hard to stay one, if we mistake academic proficiencies for believing.”  NCYC succeeds in helping young people grow in their faith through the understanding that it is uplifting and enriching to be Catholic and have a strong relationship with God.

NCYC began as a regional conference in 1983 and became national in 1991.  It is held in cities all over the country and is always held in places big enough to hold 20,000 people.  This year it was held in the Indianapolis Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium.  This year’s theme was Called to Glory, and the source of this theme is a Scripture passage from Matt. 25:31, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne.”  This theme was created with the objective of having students search for, connect with, and share in the glory of Christ.  The interactive thematic park, called Victory Park, has many different fun-filled stations, including one where you can get a signed baseball card of a bishop. It includes the traditional exhibits as well as some more unique recreational activities.

NCYC presents an excellent opportunity to meet other Catholics across the country and create a deeper relationship with Christ and the Church.  In a crowd of 20,000 young people, everyone helps each other to find that closer connection with God.  The conference has some of the best Catholic speakers like Mark Hart and Mike Patin making the speeches and presentations not only inspiring, but credible. Mark Hart is a popular speaker and a best-selling Catholic author.  Mike Patin has talked to people of all ages on issues like positive attitude and living life fully.  An inspirational speaker and highly regarded singer, ValLimer Jansen also appeared. The conference is often referred to as a pilgrimage.  People go looking for growth, change, and renewal in their faith and in their lives.

This year, there was a great turnout of Padua girls accompanied by Mrs. Vavala.  They had a great time there and many of them are going again two years from now.  The Juniors and Seniors who attended this year will be too old to attend the next time it is held, and many have already decided to attend the National Catholic Collegiate Conference.  Mrs. Vavala tries to help our students have an experience with Jesus so that they can begin to understand how much they are loved by God.  She shared her thoughts about this year’s NCYC.  “What they take away from NCYC is an understanding that there are a lot of young people out there for whom faith is important.  It gives them ‘permission’ to say that loving God and living his plan for their lives is something they want to do.”  Her favorite memory was “when everyone was asked to be silent during prayer and everyone got still, and there was not a sound in the arena until the ‘Amen’ which echoed across the arena.”  She encourages more girls to go and deepen their faith with God.  This year 150 people from the Diocese of Wilmington attended.  Padua was represented by:

• Seniors: Alex Belair and Marykate McGurk

• Juniors: Emily Brindle, Alex Barba, Maggie Fassano, Kathleen Moore, Molly Wierzbowski, and Natalia Ziemecki

• Sophomores: Kate Saberton, Sammi Szurkowski, and Lucy Vavala

• Freshman: Kristen DiMichele

The majority of these Padua girls have never been to NCYC before, but really enjoyed their time at the conference. To a lot of them, it became like learning about God with 23,000 of their closest friends. Marykate said that she had a beautiful experience with NCYC.  She loved how there were so many teenagers who were like her, and yet completely different at the same time. They all loved and worshiped the same God as her, and yet they all led very different lives. She said, “I learned that there is nothing wrong with expressing my faith. I am more sure about where I stand with Jesus than ever. It may have taken a stadium full of believers to get me there, but I am totally happy about that.”

Alex Barba said, “NCYC has helped me by being okay with practicing my faith no matter what they say or think. It also helped me respect my parents more for sending me to a Catholic school.”  Her favorite memory was when an artist drew Jesus’ face out of sand. Molly Wierzbowski’s favorite memory was walking into the arena for the first time, which she described as “mind-boggling.” NCYC has helped Molly strengthen her faith, and her advice is “If anyone has the opportunity to go to this, they should definitely take it!  It is the opportunity of a lifetime, and it strengthens your faith and changes your outlook on life!”

Kate Saberton learned, “that you shouldn’t be ashamed of spreading the Word of God. In today’s society most teenagers think going to religious retreats and events is boring because there are some retreats where you go to pray in silence. NCYC was really the opposite of that. Everyone was excited about their faith and eager to share and have fun.”  The conference has really made Kate more aware of God’s presence in everyday small acts of kindness that people perform. For Sammi Szurkowski, “it helped me just get out of the boring church setting and really understand how it applies to my life.”  The next year NCYC takes place Sammi hopes to be an animator, which is a person who dances and performs and really gets people pumped up.

The National Catholic Youth Conference is put on by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry.  They dedicate their work to young people in the Church to help them grow in their love of God and Catholic faith.  They encourage everyone to come out and pray and learn about God with them in 2013.  Mrs. Vavala said, “It’s a place where it’s not uncool to be a young person of faith.”