Teens Prepare for World Youth Day

March 16, 2002. Meriden, Connecticut

A group of young people at the Franciscan Life Center is busy raising funds for their pilgrimage to visit the Holy Father at World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto. Their major project is candy-making. Samples of Easter candy were so impressive that orders flooded in from friends and neighbors. In February the group sold their homemade Valentine's Day candy, along with numerous baked items, at a local parish. The sale brought in over $900 which motivated them to try marketing Easter candy.

In July the Connecticut youth will travel to Michigan to meet up with the Franciscan Sisters' youth group there and together attend the Pope's World Youth Day gathering in Toronto. Pope John Paul II will spend time in prayer and song with young people from around the world and celebrate Mass for them. Youth activities are planned for the days prior to the Holy Father's arrival as a way for young people to meet each other and be strengthened in their faith.

Each United States pilgrim is asked to contribute a small fee to help provide scholarships for pilgrims from other countries who need financial help in order to attend. The Franciscan Life Center group has been meeting regularly for several months to study and pray over the World Youth Day theme of "Being Salt and Light For Our Time."