Courtesy of Youth and Young Adult Evangelization (Photo Andrew Furphy)
By Deacon Scott Pearhill
Editor
Andrew Furphy, Director of Youth and Young Adult Evangelization for the Diocese of Boise, will soon travel to Lisbon for the 2023 World Youth Day event. “For many people, it’s the launching point for a realization in their lives,” said Furphy. When asked what youth and adults can expect, Furphy noted, “The Lord clearly gives something we need.” Questions are answered like, “Where am I called? What mission has the Lord given me?”
Andrew Furphy
Director of Youth and Young Adult Evangelization
He and 27 other Catholic Idahoans will meet at Boise Airport early this Saturday morning to travel by plane and bus for nearly 27 hours. Others from Furphy’s group will travel independently and meet in Portugal. The 27 traveling together can expect a layover lasting 8 hours after a bus ride between airports. “It’s a pilgrimage, not a vacation,” said Furphy. “Pilgrimages involve greater purpose. Inconveniences we would be furious about on vacations are opportunities for being docile to the Holy Spirit, letting go of control, and surrendering to God.”
Furphy explained it’s also an opportunity to understand the Church in its global dimension. “When was the last time we thought of the Church in Africa, Asia or Australia? Every continent sends pilgrims.” Furphy hopes to meet those who might help him know the region in Queensland, Australia, where his father was born.
World Youth Day participants often swap mementos from their hometowns, states, or countries. Furphy’s group will bring pins from the Idaho Potato Commission and World Youth Day stickers in the shape of the state of Idaho, created for his group by the Diocese of Boise.
Furphy’s group of youth and young adults from the Diocese of Boise includes 34 people, of whom 12 are youth, 11 are young adults, 9 are parents and 2 are priests, Father Nelson Cintra and Father Camilo Garcia. The Fraternity of Verbum Spei in Boise is also taking a group of religious and families. Jessica Gallegos, youth minister of Holy Spirit Catholic Community in Pocatello, is attending World Youth Day with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
If you enjoyed this story and would like to read more like it, please consider buying a subscription to the Idaho Catholic Register. Your $20 yearly subscription also supports the work of the Diocese of Boise Communications Department, which includes not only the newspaper, but this website, social media posts and videos. You can subscribe here, or through your parish, or send a check to 1501 S. Federal Way, Boise, ID, 83705: or call 208-350-7554 to leave a credit card payment. Thank you, and God bless you.