YOUNG & CATHOLIC

WINTER 2019–2020

In prayer at New York Catholic Youth Day 2019 (NYCYD), at Westchester County Center. // Photograph by Gerri Hernandez.

ON A STREET CORNER IN THE BRONX, a group of girls is handing out hot meals and warm clothing to grateful clients of a rehab center. A few blocks away, children are addressing cards to be delivered along with holiday gifts and necessities to a home for battered moms with newborns. And at Kingston Catholic School in Ulster County, members of the Junior Honor Society operate a snack cart and donate the proceeds to a local charity that provides meals and supplies to the needy. 

All over the Archdiocese of New York, young people are suiting up as altar servers, raising their voices in choirs, praying the rosary, studying the Bible. On college campuses, Catholic students are banding together to pray, make pilgrimages and help feed and house the poor both locally and internationally. Young adults from Staten Island to Sullivan County, from Westchester to Ulster, are attending Mass together, socializing, learning and taking to the streets in support of those less fortunate than themselves. They are both the present and the future of the Church.

Carrying the faith forward is a joyful calling, but also a daunting prospect. Mainstream American culture is riding a decades-long trend away from faith and toward moral relativism. Meanwhile, the Church is recovering from the scandal of clerical sex abuse, working to help survivors find justice while also restoring its own reputation as a protector of those who cannot protect themselves. Young Catholics must remain strong in the face of peer pressure, negative messages in the press and the lure of temporal pleasures instantly available with the tap of a screen.

To lead the Church into tomorrow will require courage, hard work, humility, a willingness to evolve and a commitment to serving others. The young people in these pages are examples of hope for the faithful and sources of inspiration for other youth, who – troubled by a world that devalues life, celebrates violence and hides despair behind a shiny veneer of social-media “reality” – are longing for a genuine experience of community and the news that God loves them.

They have much to teach us.
 

GROWING IN DEVOTION

At 11:30 on a Sunday morning, it’s standing room only for the Spanish-language Mass at St. Athanasius Church in the southwest Bronx. Outside, cars are double-parked for two blocks in every direction. Inside, the choir is singing a lively hymn with a Latin beat, and the pastor, Fr. José Rivas, is preparing to begin the spirited service. Amid this vibrant scene, the Daughters of Mary appear like a vision in the front two rows, dressed all in white with chapel veils covering their heads and Miraculous Medals on colored ribbons pinned to their blouses so each ribbon forms the letter M. They range in age from 8 to 18.

Daughters of Mary praying the rosary at Corpus Christi monastery in the Bronx. // Photograph by Michael Cain.

“It speaks volumes when you have a young girl wearing her uniform in Mass,” says Glenny Coats, the young parishioner who coordinates the group for St. Athanasius parish. “Its significance is purity – one of the virtues that we tap into when we learn about Mary. Its essence is innocence.”

“The Daughter of Mary wants to be more than just a girl who goes through life,” Coats says. “She wants to be a girl who saves lives, who saves souls, who does good in her community, who can look at Mary as her model and as her beacon.”

After Mass, the girls sometimes walk a few blocks to say the rosary in the chapel at the Corpus Christi Monastery, the oldest monastery of Dominican sisters in the United States. “The sisters there are like our godmothers,” Coats says.

The girls participate in annual retreats and work in service projects, preparing and delivering meals and clothing to the poor and homeless in Manhattan and to clients of a Bronx rehab center. “We also do a box of supplies that we send out for the holidays to a charity that distributes toys and school supplies to children in underserved countries.”

For the girls, these acts are a part of their shared devotion to Mary. “It makes a joyous situation out of things,” Coats says. “It gets them to do this type of work with a joyful spirit, because we’re doing it in community. It’s a calling to something greater.”
 

CHIPPING IN AGAINST HUNGER

At Kingston Catholic School. // Photographs by Ricardo Paiba.

Each morning at 8 o’clock, the seventh and eighth graders of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) at Kingston Catholic School set up snack carts on the three floors of the school, across the street from St. Mary’s Church. For 15 minutes, they do a brisk business selling chips and fruit snacks to their fellow students, from kindergarteners to middle schoolers. An efficient system of $5 prepaid cards makes it possible for everyone to buy what they want without the bother of long lines or coins rolling on the floor.

Every penny of the “profits” goes to the People’s Place Café, which provides breakfast and lunch to needy Ulster County residents in a light-filled cafeteria-style eatery two miles from the school. In its first month of operation, the snack cart project cleared $200, which the students presented to People’s Place director Christine Hein on November 12.

The team behind the snack cart, with principal Jill Albert (left) and faculty advisers Ann Mino (center) and Pattie Balcanoff (right)

“The idea came from the students themselves,” says seventh-grade teacher Pattie Balcanoff, one of the two faculty advisers for the NJHS. The students were already volunteering twice a year at the People’s Place food pantry – the largest in Ulster County – and when they learned that the nonprofit was opening a new café to serve all comers on a “whatever you can afford” basis, they wanted to help out. It was seventh-grader Madison Kiley who suggested the snack cart and even dreamed up the prepaid cards.

“I love knowing that we did something good – and we had fun doing it,” says Maia Rich, the SJHS vice president at Kingston Catholic. “When we presented the check to Mrs. Hein, I couldn’t believe how much we, as a school, had raised. That feeling will remind us to keep doing service in the future.”
 

A THOUSAND TIMES YES

Expect to hear from the 1,000- plus students who attended this fall’s New York Catholic Youth Day at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. They came from parishes, schools and ministries throughout the archdiocese and responded to the theme of the day – “Speak Up” – by making their voices heard in song, prayer and passionate dialogue about how to change the world for the better.

A thousand teens sitting and listening at New York Catholic Youth Day 2019. // Photographs by Gerri Hernandez.

They packed 50,000 meals for hungry people in Burkina Faso; flocked to workshops about discernment, the power of prayer and what it means to be a Catholic woman or man; and heard an inspiring keynote address from Chika Anyanwu, who told her own story of personal loss and recovery to illustrate the value of prayer and the importance of trusting God when hope seems hard to come by.

Packing meals for Burkina Faso at NYCYD.

They experienced Mass celebrated by Cardinal Dolan, heard his homily on the North American martyrs and the glory of living (and if necessary, dying) for Jesus. At the end of the day, all knelt for Eucharistic adoration before heading home with a new resolve to raise their voices for social justice and the Catholic faith, preparing to live out the words of Pope Francis (Christus Vivit, 2019): “We must dare to be different ... testifying to the beauty of generosity, service, purity, perseverance, forgiveness, fidelity to our personal vocation, prayer, the pursuit of justice and the common good, love for the poor, and social friendship.”
 

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FAITH MODELS

Photograph by Gerri Hernandez.

These six young Catholics belong to two of the archdiocese’s regional youth programs. Their future dreams tend toward service professions, from law enforcement to mental health counseling, and an ongoing commitment to the faith.

The Pallotine Teenage Federation (PTAF), represented (above, from left) by Veronica Keene, Chris Velecca and Ashley Zacardo, is based in Orange County and affiliated with youth ministries as far away as Staten Island. PTAF teens help each other grow in faith through retreats and service.

“The program helped me come to terms with my relationship with God,” says Veronica, a high school senior from Pleasant Valley who is currently PTAF’s president. The group does service work with soup kitchens and food pantries, and Veronica teaches first graders in her parish’s religious education program. “It makes me happy,” she says, “to share my faith with others.”

Jalexie Urena and Deanna and Jean-Luc Saliva (from right, above) are members of Jornada, a movement devoted to “youth evangelizing youth.” From the age of 16, members attend annual retreats and perform service in their communities.

Jean-Luc, now a young adult mentor with the program, especially loves singing in Jornada’s annual benefit concert – this year’s proceeds support immigrant families. “It’s one of the greatest moments,” he says, “doing this for other people.”
 

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TIME FOR DISCERNMENT

For every young Catholic, the call of faith arrives in a different way. Some hear only a faint murmur and may drift away from God, at least for a time. Others perceive a clearer imperative, an opportunity to glorify God through work and relationships, by helping others and creating good in the world. They worship in their parish, serve those in need, promote social justice, create beauty through music and art. But a few of us receive a stronger message from God: a vocation to religious life.

Cardinal Dolan with members of the archdiocesan Youth Team at NYCYD. // Photograph by Gerri Hernandez.

This process of understanding God’s plan for us is called discernment, and for a some it begins at a very young age. Giovanni Gauzza, a freshman at Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie, first began thinking about the priesthood in fourth grade. “They were asking kids to become altar servers,” he recalls. Ordinarily, his intense stage fright would have made the idea terrifying. Instead, he says, “All my fears seemed to go away, and I said yes.”

Giovanni Gauzza. // Photograph by Ricardo Paiba.

Gauzza is currently enrolled in the Cathedral Prep program at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, where he joins other young men discerning for the priesthood at periodic weekend retreats. “We get 10 to 15 guys each month – numbers have doubled since last year – for prayer, catechesis, occasionally a trip somewhere,” says Fr. Christopher Argano, director of vocations for the archdiocese. “These are guys who are devout, involved in their parish and want to do the will of God in their life.”

For Gauzza, that means continuing to study scripture and do service at local charities and in his parish’s religious education program. He is very confident about the future of Catholicism.

“God will see us through,” he says. “If you look at scripture and the history of the Church, that’s very clear.”
 

FAITH ON THE QUAD

When Andrew Powers transferred to the State University of New York, New Paltz, as a junior, he heard about a retreat offered by the Catholic campus ministry and decided to give it a try. “It almost felt like an encounter with God,” he recalls, “like He was telling me that ministry is where I’m meant to be. From that moment, I was all in.”

Since joining the campus ministry program, Andrew – now the group’s president – has been rewarded with the companionship and support of like-minded people, as well as the opportunity to be part of the local parish, St. Joseph’s, teaching religious education classes to third graders. Members of the campus group volunteer locally with a homeless shelter and soup kitchen in Kingston and a New Paltz pregnancy support clinic, the Bravo Center. In addition, they make an annual service trip in partnership with the St. John Bosco Children’s Fund. Last year, Andrew traveled with the group to the Dominican Republic, and the experience was transformative.

Andrew Powers (center, rear) in the Dominican Republic with SUNY New Paltz campus ministry members helping locals maintain agricultural infrastructure.

“Just seeing what their daily lives are like,” Andrew says, “trying to help out, and then coming back to see all the things we take for granted: it’s something you have to witness firsthand.” The experience has left him determined to carry on living his faith actively in the world. “After graduate school, my dream is to start a sports ministry, bringing the faith to kids in their everyday lives,” he says.

Ann-Marie Abban-Demitrus entered Vassar as a freshman in 2017 after growing up in Ghana. The campus ministry gave her a community where she could practice her faith and find support in adapting to life in America. “I grew up thinking of Catholicism as restrictive, as if the only people that matter are Catholics like me and my family. Vassar Catholic Community taught me how to love all other people, regardless of creed, color, affinity and all that.

“Being a liberal arts college, Vassar is not super big on faith,” Anne-Marie says. “The campus ministry gives me what I needed to remain steadfast in my Catholic faith.” A chemistry major, Abban hopes to make a difference in the world as a biochemist. “Long-term, I would like to go home to Ghana after grad school and use my knowledge to improve health care.”

Sometimes, Catholics on campus have to swim against the stream of the prevailing culture. “Not everyone in the academic community is in agreement with the mission of the Church,” Andrew says. Last year, the Catholic ministry in New Paltz spoke up in defense of the Bravo Center when pro-choice protesters tried to get them barred from campus. “It really makes you question: Is this something you’re willing to stand up for? At that moment, it’s huge to have the support of the group and realize you’re not alone.”

This is serious stuff, but it’s also joyful. “There’s a stigma in colleges,” Andrew says, “that to be Catholic is something your parents or grandparents did. You do it while you have to, and when you get older you can just get rid of it. But I think it’s awesome. Being Catholic and young is cool.”
 

THE COLOR OF GRACE

The League of Pan-Afro Catholic Women grew out of a brunch at the Manhattan apartment of Ijeoma Mbamalu in early 2018. “It was fun – Catholic women from all over the area,” recalls co-founder Andrea Espinoza. “A few attendees of color stayed behind and started talking and laughing and the vibe was great.” She emailed Mbamalu a few months later with the idea of starting a group. “We polled our Black women friends and we became active in January 2019.”

The group brings together Catholic women from Haiti, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Trinidad and the American South for fellowship, prayer, reading, discussion and occasionally a guest speaker. “We don’t have a mission statement yet, but if we did it would be to highlight the importance of inclusivity, to provide a forum for people of color who want to worship in ways that they relate to,” Mbamalu says.

Andrea Espinoza (left) and Ijeoma Mbamalu, founders of the League of Pan-Afro Catholic Women. // Photograph by Ricardo Paiba.

“I was born and raised in Nigeria, and I remember worshipping in a way that was really memorable. I’ve missed the soulfulness. It took me a while to find a home parish where I felt connected to Christ.”

Espinoza comes from a West Indian and Latina background. “When I came to New York I found a culture shock,” she says. One thing that surprised her was a widespread assumption that all Black people were Protestants. “A question I often get is, ‘How are you Catholic, when did you convert?’ We have been here and we will be here a long time!”

Members are educated in a variety of disciplines. “They work in many different industries, from tech to medicine to retail and finance – they run the gamut,” Mbamalu says. And they don’t all have the same politics. “While we do adhere to the magisterium, it’s important to acknowledge disagreements,” Espinoza says. “You can’t have discussions if you are not OK that everyone doesn’t adhere to what you believe.”

One subject that brings the group together is the rosary. “The rosary is what centers our attention. It’s when we come together as one, and our voices are as one.” One of the group’s core goals is to enable members to fully embrace their Catholic identity. “There are some of our members who don’t feel welcome in their own parishes,” Espinoza says. “We are here to say, you are welcome here: We’re going to talk, to pray, and help you figure out what your path to God needs to look like.”
 

REACHING FOR GOD

Once a month, a cadre of young Catholics sets out from Grand Central Terminal bearing hot pizza and open hearts for the homeless population in the surrounding streets. Welcome to “You Did It to Me,” one of the many ministries of the Young Adult Outreach Office (YAO) of the Archdiocese of New York.

Volunteers from Young Adult Outreach deliver pizza and fellowship to a homeless man outside Grand Central.

The programs of YAO do a remarkable job of bringing together young Catholics in our region – and shattering the misconception that Catholicism is not positioned to survive beyond the next generation. The crowds who show up for YAO Masses, holy hours, lectures and volunteer opportunities speak to the numbers of young adults who hunger to practice the Catholic faith – once they realize that they are not alone.

“We try to help people in their 20s and 30s connect,” says YAO director Colin Nykaza. “Connect with God. Connect with each other.”

It’s a common theme among this generation of the faithful: young Catholics experiencing the joy of community, the power of God expressed though the growing ranks of worshippers unafraid to say “We believe.” Working together, they are spreading the love of Christ and creating a better world.