Pilgrims just returning from World Youth Day (WYD) celebrations still felt the glow of the experience, even if it was mixed with a little jet lag.

Gabe DelaSerna traveled with more than 40 pilgrims from the Archdiocese of New York to Lisbon, Portugal, for the event, which took place from August 1-6.

“I’m really happy about the experience. I got to have a restart for myself. It was like a spiritual restart,” DelaSerna, 19, told The Good Newsroom in an August 9 telephone interview. “It was the right decision for me. I kind of strayed from my faith (last year); stuff just happened, got in the way…Attending this World Youth Day, I felt like I got closer to my faith. It felt really cleansing for my soul.”

DelaSerna, who will soon start his sophomore year at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, was among 1.5 million pilgrims who attended World Youth Day Lisbon 2023, which was led by Pope Francis.

World Youth Day was established in the mid-1980s by now-Saint Pope John Paul II.

A Filipino-American, DelaSerna said it was a joy for him to get to know members of a pilgrim group from the Philippines at WYD Lisbon. “I took pictures with them, and I got to know them. I tried to speak the language. I’m a bit rusty.”

The archdiocesan group was led by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph A. Espaillat, and among the several coordinators was Kaitlyn Colgan, assistant director of archdiocesan Young Adult Outreach.

“I think World Youth Day is so important to give young Catholics a sense of the worldwide Church. Many of us can get in our little bubbles and can also feel discouraged when we see not many other young people at Sunday Mass,” Colgan told The Good Newsroom. “Being in a crowd of 1.5 million of our Catholic peers who were willing to make this trip reminds you that you are not alone, and it inspires you to continue in your faith journey. Having this opportunity to be together in Lisbon will stay with us for the rest of our lives.”

“I think another important thing about this trip was that it was a true pilgrimage. We had lots of fun, but we also faced struggles and had to make sacrifices, as one does on a pilgrimage. Being a little uncomfortable at times allowed us to grow in our faith and our love for one another. It was a good reminder that God is with us in the good and the bad,” Colgan added.

Melanie T. Jerez Cruz, 31, a parishioner of St. Anthony of Padua in the Bronx, was also a pilgrim in the New York archdiocesan group.

“Personally and as a Church member I would describe this experience as a trial but also a grace of God to grow in virtue,” Jerez said. “It was a gift that I did not deserve but it also put to the test my charity and humility. I remember asking myself at all times—especially those moments of fatigue, thirst, and exhaustion—Melanie, where is your charity? Where is your love in all this? It is my way of keeping myself accountable to God…To me, this journey was a constant act of trust and surrender.”

In his homily during the August 6 WYD Lisbon closing Mass, Pope Francis said: “We, too, need light, a burst of light that is hope to face so much darkness that assails us in life.” That light, he noted, “is Jesus, because He is the light that does not go out, the light that shines even in the night – that enlightens our eyes, enlightens our heart, enlightens our mind.”

“What is more, I tell you something very beautiful: It is no longer me; it is Jesus Himself who is looking at you, at this moment. He is looking at us. He knows you, He knows the heart of each one of you, He knows the life of each one of you. He knows your joys, He knows your sorrows, your successes, and your failures. He knows your hearts, and He says to you today, here, in Lisbon, at this World Youth Day, ‘Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Take heart, do not be afraid,” the pope added.