Bishop da Cunha to host free Catholic Youth Day on Martha’s Vineyard

FALL RIVER — Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., is inviting youth (rising eighth graders through high school) to Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday, August 14, for a celebration of their Catholic faith with their peers from across the Fall River Diocese.

Catholic Youth Day 2021 is planned for locales in Oak Bluffs on the Vineyard and will feature activities, games, prayer, guest speakers, live music, lunch, and some free time to visit nearby shops and beaches. The day is free for interested teens; there is no charge for either the program or transportation to the island.

Bishop da Cunha will celebrate Mass for participants at the historic Tabernacle in Trinity Park, a large covered outdoor venue that has been a center for cultural, religious, and social activities on the island for over 100 years.

The bishop and coordinators of this youth day are looking at this event as an opportunity to bring young people together and evangelize at the same time, explained David Carvalho, who is the Secretary for the New Evangelization in the Fall River Diocese.

“We’ve longed for community over this past year and a half,” he said. “Young people have longed to rekindle relationships with friends. Churches have longed to gather their young people together again. This day helps make all of this a reality, reconnecting individuals in a beautiful setting. We look forward to helping churches gather their young people again and treat them to a fun and memorable day on the Vineyard.”

The day’s program will also include “4th Watch,” a worship and adoration experience and an introduction by Holy Cross Family Ministries to its recently released film, Pray, on the life famed “Rosary Priest” Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., whose cause for sainthood is now open.

Catholic Youth Day participants will travel together to Martha’s Vineyard on the 12-noon ferry from Woods Hole and will return on the 7:30 p.m. boat. Free bus transportation from several points in the diocese will be provided to and from the ferry terminal.

Teens interested in attending Catholic Youth Day on Martha’s Vineyard must register through their parish. They should contact the director of religious education at their parish or the parish office to do so. Deadline for registration is July 28th. Information on the day is available on the diocesan website at www.fallriverdiocese.org or by calling the Diocese Faith Formation Office at 508-675-1311.