At the beginning of every summer, a group of Cristo Rey St. Martin students accompany members of the Clerics of St. Viator for the Viatorian Youth Congress (VYC) at Casa Iskali in Des Plaines, IL. The VYC is a summer youth retreat for Catholic, Viatorian faith, and leadership formation that high school students attend. The retreat is four days long and is hosted by the Viatorians, one of our endorsing communities.
In years past, the retreats have been led by young adult leaders who were college freshmen. This year, four of the youth leaders of the retreat were CRSM recently graduated seniors Mya Weatherspoon, Isabel Hernandez, Adrian Calderon, and Emmanuel Rivera. It was the first year that applications were opened up to incoming college freshmen. The application process to become a young adult leader is rigorous, as students are required to list a reference for themselves and are then vetted by the Viatorians in charge of the retreat. Brother Peter, who consistently volunteers with our students and assists with CRSM retreats, led the training for these rising college students in preparation for the retreat.
Campus Minister and Theology teacher Iris Sanchez brought six rising CRSM juniors to the congress, where they participated in testimonial workshops, learned about the different elements of ministry, and studied various prayer styles. The students also had the opportunity to meet delegates from another Cristo Rey Network school, Cristo Rey St. Viator College Preparatory High School in Las Vegas, NV.
This retreat is meant to expand our students’ views on their faith and teach them about the Viatorians and what they do for CRSM and the community. It is also meant to help foster leadership skills within the students attending in the hopes that they will become the young adult leaders for future retreats. CRSM hopes that the Viatorian Youth Congress retreat can be beneficial and educational to our students for summers to come, and help deepen their faith.