Central Maine teens installed as members of the Catholic Youth Leadership Team

PORTLAND — Despite temperatures in the mid-20s and a freezing drizzle, nearly 200 teenagers and accompanying adults from across the state processed through the city streets Sunday, April 15, in a public display of their faith as part of the 2018 Catholic Youth Convention.
The procession began at the Holiday Inn by the Bay on Spring Street, where the teenagers had been gathered since Friday for the annual event.

The teens walked down the center of Middle Street, through the city’s Old Port, then up Pearl Street by city hall and finally to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for a Mass celebrated by Bishop Robert P. Deeley. The annual convention was an opportunity for high school-aged teenagers from around the state to gather to celebrate their faith. The convention featured speakers, workshops, Masses, prayer, the sacrament of reconciliation, eucharistic adoration, and more.
During the Mass on Sunday, the bishop blessed and installed new members of the Catholic Youth Leadership Team. They include Isabelle Castonguay from St. Rose of Lima Parish in Jay; Israel Gombojav from Corpus Christi Parish in Waterville; Jenna Roane from All Saints Parish in Brunswick; Christina Roy from St. Michael Parish in Augusta; Matthew Sawiciki from Prince of Peace Parish in Lewiston, and Thomas Smith from St. Agnes Parish in Pittsfield.
The event is sponsored by the diocese’s Office of Lifelong Faith Formation, but teenagers who serve on the Catholic Youth Leadership Team played a key role in planning and running it.