By Brenda Noriega

 During World Youth Day 2019 in Panama, I had the blessing to have lunch with Pope Francis. I am still waiting to wake up! 

 The truth is that I am still unwrapping the experience, my blessing from heaven. One of the biggest blessings about that lunch was to now be connected with nine other wonderful young brothers and sisters from all over the world. We clicked the moment we met. I instantly functioned as the translator since I was the only fluent bilingual person in the room. I had the blessing to be a bridge between two languages, Spanish and English.

By John Andrews
Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As she sat in the balcony of the U.S. Capitol Building waiting for the President of the United States to make his entrance, Sister Hortensia Del Villar, S.A.C., remembered the words of her sixth grade teacher at Telfair Elementary School in Los Angeles.

 “She told us ‘you are part of the greatest democracy in the world, that works because there are checks and balances,’ “ Sr. Hortensia recalled Mrs. Witham saying.

By Malie Hudson

 Going above and beyond the call of service not just once, but time and time again is what recipients of this year’s Amar Es Entregarse Award have in common. 

 The award is given to an individual or group who embody Bishop Gerald Barnes’ Episcopal Motto Amar Es Entregarse, “Love is the total giving of one’s self.” 

 Bishop Barnes will honor four extraordinary individuals and groups with the award at the 19th Annual Bishops Dinner on April 27. Two of the honorees are profiled here and the remaining two will be profiled in the April issue of the BYTE.

By Mary Huber

 On the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton Supreme Court decisions, legalizing abortion up to moments before birth, the state of New York enacted a new unrestricted abortion law called the Reproductive Health Act. 

SAN BERNARDINO—The Diocese of San Bernardino has always charted its course in faith with a spirit of innovation and a ‘can do’ attitude.

 It wasn’t lost on Brenda Noriega that the 111 diocesan pilgrims who traveled to Panama for World Youth Day 2019 had to go 3,000 miles to learn a little bit more about hospitality – one of the four core values practiced here in the Diocese of San Bernardino.

 Host families in Costa Rica, where the pilgrims spent their first four days, and later in Panama, offered an unguarded welcome, said Noriega, the Young Adult Ministry Coordinator for the Diocese who spearheaded the Diocesan participation in WYD.

 “They raised the bar for us as a Diocese that has a core value of hospitality,” she said. “They knew what we went through to get here. They knew that we loved God, that we were seeking Christ. 

 “That’s all they needed to open their homes to us.”