First Northern Deanery Youth Conference attracts 300

Intermountain Catholic

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Bishop John C. Wester presents his homily during the Northern Deanery Catholic Youth Conference in Saint Joseph High School's auditorium. See additional photos on Facebook. IC photo/Marie Mischel

OGDEN — More than 300 youth gathered Sept. 8 for the Northern Deanery Catholic Youth Conference at Saint Joseph High School in Ogden.

Lucy O. Valerio, a member of the Saint James the Just Parish Council, organized the youth conference as a way to get the Northern Deanery’s parishes together "so we could get these youth to believe in what they think is right and put Jesus back into their hearts," she said.

Event organizers originally thought about 100 youth would attend; however, as Mass started, about 300 were present.

The Most Reverend John. C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, opened the conference with a Mass. "It’s a great gift to be here today," he said. "To love another human being is to see the face of God," he said, quoting Les Miserábles. "I think it’s powerful because you and I oftentimes presume ... that God is present in church and God is present in holy places and then there’s the rest of my life: my school, my family, my friends. But when Jean Valjean says that, he puts God and our lives smack dab together."

The event also had two keynote speakers, Pete Espil and Dominican Brother Gabriel Mosher. Espil is youth director of Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church in Idaho and a former campus minister at Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City. Brother Gabriel just finished a year assigned to Saint Catherine of Siena/Newman Center in Salt Lake City.

Espil’s theme was "Mary’s Yes to God," which was fitting because the conference was held on the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"I love teenagers because God loves teenagers," he said. "God loves all of us, no matter what."

Espil started his presentation by sharing his own experiences and struggles as a teenager. "I was a special spirit; when I was in high school and someone told me to go to church and all those things, I used to say ‘Whatever,’" said Espil, who was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but as an adult converted to Catholicism.

After high school, Espil joined the U.S. Marine Corps, where the drinking problem that started when he was 14 continued. He was discharged from the military and met the woman who would become his wife. She insisted that they go to church if they were going to date. They tried a few different denominations, finally settling on the Catholic Church. Espil read and studied the faith and eventually was baptized. He credits God for helping him to stop drinking, and also for his profession, working with Catholic youth.

Espil’s message was positive, said Kimberly Gallagher Brox, a Saint James the Just parishioner whose oldest two children attended the conference. "It was really, really good for the kids to get to see that God opens doors for us and we have opportunities. I’m glad my children were here to hear the message ... that God’s always calling us, and no matter what challenges we have in our lives, he’s still calling to us and we need to be open to him and to react to him. He’s never going to give up with us."

"I like this a lot," said Liz Rangel, who attended the conference. "To come to these events is important so I can see how I can help others in improving their relationship with God because this is very important."

Other students also enjoyed the day.

"My mom signed me up, but it has been really great," said Eli Ethas. "I didn’t expect it to be this great."

Father Ken Vialpando, pastor of Saint Joseph Parish, said the conference was a great opportunity for youth from the different parishes to be united as one cohesive body. Because the event was held on the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he hoped that "the youth will recognize that they are also being called by God to do God’s will, to abide by his commandments and to love and serve one another, their brothers and sisters who are all gathered here from the different parishes. I hope they recognize that even though we are from different parishes, we can work together as one body in Christ, as one family."

The Northern Deanery includes the parishes from Saint Rose of Lima in Layton north to Saint Thomas Aquinas in Hyde Park.

Marie Mischel contributed to this article.