The annual Eucharist-centered youth retreat, titled YOUTH 2000, will celebrate its 25th anniversary this weekend and welcome keynote speakers Leah Darrow and Fr. Stephen DeLacy.
Darrow is a Catholic speaker and author; DeLacy is Vicar for the Office of Faith Formation for Youth and Young Adults from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The western Kentucky YOUTH 2000 is the longest-running one of its kind in the country. The retreat is cosponsored by the Diocese of Owensboro’s Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. YOUTH 2000 is an international organization whose United States’ office is based in Dallas.
“The foundation of YOUTH 2000 is to build leaders for the future,” said Lisa Bivins, coordinator of YOUTH 2000 and treasurer of the Marian Shrine Committee of the Diocese of Owensboro, in a Feb. 10 phone call with The Western Kentucky Catholic.
Bivins said Darrow will give her testimony, which includes Darrow’s conversion experience while participating in America’s Next Top Model.
Darrow is friends with YOUTH 2000 committee member Mary Katherine Wathen. Wathen said it was a “God thing” when she found out that Darrow would be available for this weekend and looks forward to Darrow speaking to the needs of 21st-century teens.
“She has a very inspiring story,” Wathen said. “There is always hope, and it’s never too late. We all have made mistakes at one point in our lives – but there is God’s mercy.”
DeLacey was ordained a priest in 2004 and was assigned to SS. Peter and Paul Parish while also leading retreats for the Malvern Retreat House and for Rachel’s Vineyard in Pennsylvania. He then served as the School Minister at Archbishop Carroll High School and Pope John Paul II High School. He was then appointed as the Vocation Director for the Diocesan Priesthood for eight years. In 2021, he was appointed Vicar for Faith Formation with Youth and Young Adults.
Editor’s note: Much of the information for this article was pulled, with permission, from the original story found here and written by Elizabeth Wong Barnstead for The Western Kentucky Catholic.
