Youth and leaders from Sts. Joseph and Paul Parish in Owensboro and Bishop William F. Medley are seen attending the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, which took place in November 2025. Cielo Edany Lopez-Soto is seen in the front row, fourth from the left. RILEY GREIF | WKC

A testimony from a youth who attended NCYC

BY CIELO EDANY LOPEZ-SOTO, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

My name is Cielo Lopez-Soto, and I am a child of God, but I was also born a Catholic, raised Catholic, and will hopefully die Catholic.

However, I haven’t always felt that way. As a child I was full of love for God and enjoyed everything we did at church. Upon reaching my teen years, I stopped enjoying going to church or participating in any of the traditions we practice. I lost my faith and the desire to be with God. I lost hope and forgot how beautiful and amazing life with God is.

Not only did I lose my faith and love, but I lost trust in the Church. I began to question everything we did, said, or celebrated. As a teen in this new world, we are exposed to a lot of different things; we are so exposed to violence, sex, addictions, and many more ungodly distractions. Sadly, lots of teens fall into those bad habits and get distracted, we get lost in our sinful world that unfortunately normalizes all of the ungodly things. We forget to include God in everything we do and say, which then leads to teens being drifted away from God, family, friends, and we get so involved in the world.

Being given the privilege to have experienced NCYC changed my point of view about how we are really not alone. Standing in a stadium filled with 16,000+ people my age was so breathtaking, it felt full of love and so much faith in God. Knowing and feeling all the love for God, Jesus, and Mary not from just people but teens, kids who are experiencing the life we live.

Having Adoration with so many teens is a moment I’ll forever hold in my heart. Being in the presence of our savior Lord Jesus Christ with teens who share the same faith and experience God’s unconditional love is so impactful and so memorable I wish I could go back just for a chance to experience it again. Listening and seeing Pope Leo was so amazing and an unknown dream came true. His words will forever stay in my heart in hopes to apply it into my life.

Since that amazing experience and connection with teens and most importantly God I realize I can experience it as much as I want. Adoration alone or with 16,000+ is still being in the presence of God. Confession feels the same every time because it’s God showing us his unconditional love. Attending Mass and praising the Lord will always glorify him and heal ourselves. Knowing all of this now, thanks to the experience and knowledge from NCYC, I use it to continue to feel closer to God and to glorify him to somewhat repay what he has done for us.

I’d like to finish this article of my experience and faith after experiencing NCYC with a quote from Pope Leo that is now branded in my brain because of how important and true it is: “You are not only the future of the Church; you are the present.” (Pope Leo)

Cielo belongs to Sts. Joseph and Paul Parish in Owensboro, Kentucky.

Note: The production and translation of this article was assisted through the use of AI, and was then reviewed by humans for accuracy.

Originally printed in the January 2026 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.