Approximately 3,000 young people from all over the United States joined together for the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) Nov. 10-12 in Long Beach, CA.

Archbishop Nelson Pérez along with Sam Gorman, a junior at Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown; Grace Murphy, graduate of Bishop Shanahan High School and current student at Belmont Abbey in North Carolina; and Marisally Santiago, director of the archdiocesan Office for Ministry with Youth (OMY) participated in the gathering. The three-day event included music, prayer, workshops, and liturgies.

In Oct. Archbishop Pérez led a delegation of 13 pilgrims from the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) on a trip to Rome to meet Pope Francis. Archbishop Pérez is the Episcopal Advisor for NFCYM. These young people formally shared our Holy Father’s message of hope and joy at the NCYC conference. (Photos courtesy of Archbishop Pérez)

(See Related: Archbishop, Bishop Shanahan HS student meet with Pope Francis)