World Youth Day
A series that follows a few young adults during their World Youth Day 2023 experience in Lisbon, Portugal.
We went to Portugal!
In the Summer of 2023, University of St. Thomas -Houston teamed up with the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston to take young adults to World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal - and MAX Studios was there to document the journey.
One year later, see the pilgrims reflect on their pilgrimage in 2023.
Be Not Afraid
For Magdalena Escoto, going to World Youth Day was the perfect end to her college career. Between the extreme discomfort of the Vigil and the words of hope from Pope Francis, Magdalena found a sense of confidence in her future that she didn’t realize she needed.
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The Shroud of Turin at World Youth Day
Andrea Allesandri always wanted to go to World Youth Day, but was not sure how she could afford the trip. Then, through her work educating people about The Shroud of Turin, she found a way.
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We Were Made for Greatness
Annie Nguyen had high expectations going into World Youth Day 2023. Now, looking back a year later, not only were those expectations met, they were exceeded.
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Catholic Youth of the World Unite
Joseph Troxler, a UST student active in his faith life, attended and experienced a sense of new sense of the Universal Church.
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Arise and Go with Haste
World Youth Day is more than another Catholic event, it is an intimate pilgrimage opportunity to experience the Universal Church with other young adults from around the world.
explore episodeMeet the Pilgrims
Sr. Maria Frassati Jakupcak is leading and preparing the students for WYD. This will be her fifth WYD and she loves making banana bread.
Andrea is a Sophomore History and Theology major. The National Museum of Funeral History is sponsoring her trip since she is invested in The Shroud of Turin. During this trip she is most excited for Stations of the Cross with the Pope!
Joseph is a Sophomore Computer Science Major. His family is devoted to Our Lady of Fatima so he is very excited to go to Fatima in Portugal.
Annie M. is a Sophomore Education major. During WYD she wants to explore her vocation and see what God is calling her to do.
Magdalena just graduated with her Bachelor's in Education. Her older sister went to WYD and talked about how it was life-changing which is one of the reasons that inspired her to go. Also as Magdalena transitions into post-grad she wants to have a strong foundation in her faith so she wants WYD to help her set that foundation.
Darla is a Senior Nursing major and she is excited to be able to grow more in her faith during WYD. She is excited to go to Madrid since she has never been.
Carla is a Sophomore History major and during WYD she hopes to continue to grow in her faith and meet new people.
Abi is the other leader that will be going on the trip. This will be her second World Youth Day and she is excited to see the impact that this trip is going to make on the students.
Annie N. is a Sophomore Biology major. She is going on WYD in order to have a better relationship with God. Through the WYD class she has made new friends so she is excited to travel with them.
Dorthea is a Senior and an International Studies Major. She loves to travel and learn about other countries. To prepare for the trip she has been learning about the history of Portugal and teaching herself Portugues.
