Reno Catholics take trip to see pope
Jennifer Ghera does some last minute luggage straightening Tuesday before she goes with other local youth from the Newman Center and Our Lady of the Snows at Reno-Tahoe International Airport for a trip to meet the pope as part of the World Youth Day in Australia as her mother Mary Ghera looks on.
Local teens and young adults embarked on a spiritual journey Tuesday morning that will take them to the other side of the world.
Through community churches and organizations, 17 Northern Nevadans began their trip to meet Pope Benedict XVI in Sydney, Australia, as part of the 2008 World Youth Day.
The six-day event that begins Tuesday is an invitation from the pope to gather young adults from across the globe to celebrate and learn about their faith on a more regular basis.
“I’m very excited,” said Becky Stone, 24, a first-grade teacher at Desert Heights Elementary School. “I went before, and it was such a powerful experience to be able to connect with other Catholic youth from around the world. It just kind of gives you the sense of that global community, which is a very powerful thing.”
The local group joined members of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and Diocese of Sacramento in the trip to New York before leaving for New Zealand for the Days in the Diocese, an series of events subsequent to World Youth Day.
In New Zealand, groups will stay with host families to obtain “a better understanding of the culture that they’re going into for the World Youth Days and the world around them,” said Robert Munson, an English teacher at Wooster High School who helped coordinate the trip.
During World Youth Day, events include an opening Mass, youth festival, papal welcome ceremony, catechesis sessions led in various languages by bishops from around the world and the final Mass joined by the pope.
Munson said the group plans to extend their stay in Australia by a week after the festivities and travel two hours north from Sydney to Port Stevens.
The trip will cost about $3,500 a person plus spending money, but Munson said it’s worth budgeting for.
“A pilgrimage is about sacrifice and sacrificing our comfort and maybe that latte,” Munson said.
Marcie Salkowski, director of youth and young ministries at Our Lady of the Snows Church in Reno, said she is excited about the trip.
“I think it’s an adventure, and it starts right now with the flights being canceled,” said Salkowski, referring to a connecting flight to San Francisco. “But God’s in charge.”
This article appeared originally in Reno Gazette-Journal.
