Fr. Miguel Virella, SVD
Pastor
Our Lady of Providence Parish
Neptune, New Jersey
 

The youth group at Our Lady of Providence Parish, Jovenes Unidos de la Providencia, has enjoyed a wealth of new experiences as active parish members. They have provided an important example for many other young people in how they share their faith and how they challenge themselves to maturity through commitment to God and the Church.

The leaders of our youth group who came here from Mexico are searching for God and trying to find a sense of belonging in this country. They have found that sense of belonging through offering their time and talents to the youth group here at Our Lady of Providence Parish in Neptune, New Jersey. Frank Moreno is a young, active faith-filled man who works with the youth group. Gabriela Martinez manages to find time and energy in her busy life to serve the Church. Marcos Nuñez has a job during the day and comes to the parish in the evenings to organize activities for the group.

Our youth group has twenty-nine members. This past year they attended a youth concert in the Bronx, New York, and a retreat at Saint Peter and Paul Parish in Trenton, New Jersey. They also visited Saint Anthony Claret Parish in Lakewood, New Jersey, which is staffed by SVD Frs. Walter Miller and Jun Pateño. Later in the year, the group took a trip to Washington, DC, to visit the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Recently they attended a youth rally in Red Bank, New Jersey, with all the Hispanic youth of the diocese.

We thank God for our youth and for their service to our community. We also pray for vocations to the consecrated life and lay leadership from within our group.