YFE is like a pot of gold – a seemingly endless sharing of every experience of Christ in our faith, for every age, with peers from our Regnum Christi family and supporters from around the world! It is a wealth of learning, inspiration, and discovery for those searching for the best resources and presenters in youth and family formation. It is all wrapped in adventure and lots of fun! You cannot beat it for a refreshing and authentic faith-filled vacation, complete with plenty of activity and touring too.
What is this all about, you may be wondering. Looking back 13 years now, to 2007 in Atlanta, our family -young at the time- enjoyed a host of events, exhibits, social activities, presentations and workshops – featuring large-scale apostolates and professional organizations we had never encountered all in one place. We spent the days in awe of the atmosphere and sheer size of the event and community of Catholic faith where many amazing talents were shared. The hospitality and the entertainment were unmatched. It was impressive to see how many other young families were eager to make the journey, many returning from previous attendance. A highlight for our teenaged sons was personally meeting Father Álvaro Corcuera, LC, our General Director at the time. The highlight for me was having Father Álvaro conduct my incorporation together with many others on the final day!
The following is just a glimpse of what we took in during our stay.
Exhibit Hall (huge and extensive) with a book signing event including big and leading-edge authors
Formation Tracks for all family members including:
Conquest – a day of action, fellowship and formation enhanced with touring of major landmarks
Kids Encounter – day of fun filled activity and entertainment, bringing young hearts to Jesus
Parenting talks including one with advice on media savvy (with Tom and April Hoopes)
Familia Marriage Renewal Event (including exchange of vows)
Youth Rally and Concert (following music competitions)
Family Fun Festival (families of performers, including a family of jugglers, and much more)
Fashion Show and Consultants (representing authentic femininity)
Film prescreening of award winning “Bella” featuring Eduardo Verastegui. Meeting Eduardo Verastegui and Stephen McVeety.
Presentations by Renown Current Writers / Autobiographers, like Father J Bartunek LC and Immaculée Ilibagiza.
Mass and Adoration (for vocations and nocturnal)
It struck me that only those who love God very much could create something so immense and beautiful for others. We truly witnessed and encountered Christ’s love there.
I invite everyone to make memories with your family at YFE in July 2021 and would like to share our family photo following the final Mass which was the pinnacle experience!
Mary Jean Belford
Belford Family after Mass at YFE 2007