When Kimberly Amigon saw Pope Francis waving and blessing the crowd from his popemobile at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon — a global Catholic gathering held every few years for young people to celebrate and deepen their faith — she was overwhelmed with joy and felt a deep sense of peace.
She had been standing for hours in a crowd of thousands with fellow students from Fresno’s St. Paul Catholic Newman Center — something she never imagined doing. After leaving her hometown of Porterville and the Catholic community she grew up in, she felt lost in her faith and unsure where she belonged.
She’d been “church-hopping,” searching for connection and one day decided to attend mass at the Newman Center, where a parishioner she’d previously met before, announced that the parish was starting a pilgrimage for World Youth Day. That moment, she said, felt like a sign from God that she was exactly where she needed to be…