Thursday, July 3
The first day of the convention began with a 10 hour bus ride to San Jose. We arrived at St. Mary’s church in time to check-in, enjoy a quick dinner provided by the great staff at St. Mary’s, and finally headed to the Fairmount Hotel where all the churches of the St. Peter’s Diocese were staying. We were given the opportunity to explore the downtown San Jose area for a few hours before retreating to bed. San Jose is incredibly beautiful, and we were fortunate to stay in a remarkable area of the city.

Friday, July 4
St. Mary’s greeted all churches in the morning, introducing the planned events for the convention and then hosting a fruitful breakfast. They followed with a beautiful Morning Prayer that involved the participation of every convention member. Our beloved Mar Sarhad Jammo spoke briefly about the beauty of uniting the youth and he encouraged us to continue to go above and beyond in every aspect of life. After prayers and introductions, we were split into two large groups, those younger than 18 went off to one side, and those above 18 went to another. There were two planned lectures for each group for the afternoon, and two workshops that followed.

The first workshop for the 17 and younger was led by Julius Bercasio and was titled Peer Pressure. The second was about The Call of Christ held by Fr. Andrew Younan.
For those 18 and older, the first workshop was about relationships with one another and with God, led by Brian & Rosie, titled Seek & You Will Find. The second was a powerful lecture by Jimi Netniss about the power of Mass and its purpose, titled Why Should We Come to Mass. This was an incredible discussion about the reasons for joining and participating in weekly mass, and the reason mass is vital to our lives.

Upon the conclusion of workshops and lectures, the churches of our St. Peter’s Diocese piled into several buses to Treasure Island in San Francisco to watch and enjoy the fireworks. The buses did a mini-tour of San Francisco before taking us to the magnificent church of St. Ignatius where we held Evening Prayer. The architecture of the church was fascinating, and Our Beloved Bishop explained features of the church that relate back to early traditions found in mass and their significance. We then had the opportunity to cross over the famous Golden-gate Bridge, covered entirely by fog but still an incredible sight to see. We took in the beauty of San Francisco and continued our journey over the grand Bay Bridge before heading to Treasure Island. Despite the cold winds and drop in temperature, dinner was served and singing and dancing went on until the fireworks began. After an exhilarating day, the group returned to their rooms to rest up for their big day of sports.

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Saturday, July 5
The anticipation of the sports tournaments could easily be seen early in the morning as everyone was pumped and eager to begin Morning Prayer and breakfast. The facility for the sports tournament was located close to St. Mary’s church, so we walked over as a large group and began the sports tournaments. It was incredible to see so many sports occurring at the same time, and so many people sitting around cheering on both their teams and the competing teams. True sportsmanship was shown when injuries occurred and all members of the teams rushed to help the one player. Everyone played well and congratulations to all teams who won. Our Beloved Bishop and all the priests came out to cheer on the teams and watch the tournaments as well. A Christian band provided music as everyone ate lunch and enjoyed the sunny weather of San Jose. An adoration room was set up for visitation, and additional games/activities were provided for those who wanted to stay out of the sun. As the tournaments were wrapping up, the groups headed back to get ready for the evening banquet.

The 3rd St. Peter’s Diocese banquet was held at the Fairmount Hotel ballroom in gorgeous San Jose. It was a sight to see so many youth laughing, dancing, and spending time with one another. The night began with wonderful speeches by St. Mary’s staff members and Our Beloved Bishop, and was followed by the awarding of trophies to all top teams who won a sports event. Dinner was served and soon after, various bands and singers took the stage to provide entertainment. Everyone danced their hearts out, enjoying every moment as they all knew they would be leaving early the next morning.

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Sunday, July 6
The concluding morning was begun with a mass that beautifully combined features of the mass from different churches of our Diocese. As many had a very long drive home, buses were quickly filled and we were soon back on our way home. What an amazing opportunity we shared and may the joys and friendships created last eternally. These conventions are truly inspiring and the bus ride home was filled with even greater anticipation for what hopefully will be the 4^th St. Peter’s Diocese Youth Convention. Thank you to everyone at St. Mary’s and everyone within St. Peter’s Diocese who made this convention possible, it was incredible.

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