In anticipation to the the World Meeting of Families 2015 in Philadelphia, Youth Congress leaders joined for a roundtable discussion at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the group’s last meeting before the September events.

There are about 46 activity leaders and 12 committee members. All of them have been working with people locally, either at the parish or at the schools for collaborations.

“We want kids to know that they are part of a Church that is global and that the faith in their family is key to their existence. They can come together and realize that they are not alone, that they are not the only people who have faith and that their family is part of larger family that is their Church throughout the world,” said Maria Carmel Richardson, WMOF Youth Congress director.

More than a quarter of the attendees are from other parts of the world, many of them from Spanish-speaking countries.

“We have families that are traveling from around the world who are coming. We will have the children of those families to learn and share about their faith and see Pope Francis when he arrives,” Carmel said.

The WMOF Youth Congress participants are kids ages 6 to 17 who are registered and attending with their family. The interactive program designed for them centers on the WMOF theme, "Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive."

“Before the Pope arrives on Saturday, we have the Congress at the Pennsylvania Convention Center which goes from Tuesday to Friday,” Carmel said. “All of the adults will be at the Adult Congress sessions, and their children will be in this very room, with us, for the Youth Congress. We have amazing plans for them: Great entertainers coming from around the world, we have speakers and different activities.”

Monday was the first time that all of the Youth Congress Activity Leaders got together to finalize plans and synchronize activities as a team. "And we look forward to collaborating to make this the most memorable and dynamic Youth Congress ever," Carmel said.

Carmel added she has worked with youth at the Archdioceses of Philadelphia for the last 20 years. “What I’ve learned is that they want to be engaged, they care about their faith. They want to be enriched in their faith as a part of their life. We just need to reach out to them because they are so young,” she said. “Once they are here, it is very exciting for them when they can go into a room with other 3,000 other young people who share their faith.”