March 12, 2026

Hundreds of teens attend ‘I Believe Youth Rally’

REGIONAL
By Nick Morganelli

The Diocesan Youth Leadership Team poses for a picture with Bishop William D. Byrne at Pope Francis Preparatory School at the “I Believe” youth rally, Saturday, March 7.

SPRINGFIELD — More than 300 young people gathered at Pope Francis Preparatory School in Springfield for the “I Believe” Diocesan Youth Rally, where praise and worship music from Psalm 33 helped create an atmosphere of worship and fun that filled the venue.

Bishop William D. Byrne served as the featured speaker for the evening.

“Once you say ‘I believe,’ everything changes,” Bishop Byrne told the crowd of middle school through high school students. “When you are a person of faith, you live in a world of miracles. All you have to do is this: ‘Jesus I trust in you.’ Say it even when things are hard or challenging. I want you to have an evening full of wonder. Open your heart and let God work,” he said.

The rally is organized by the Diocese of Springfield’s Office of Missionary Discipleship, directed by Joe Austin, and requires months of preparation.

“I am grateful for the more than 40 adult volunteers who assisted our leadership team to make the fourth annual diocesan youth rally such a success this year,” Austin said. “We started the diocesan youth leadership team in 2022 to give youth of western Mass an opportunity to grow as leaders in their community and I am so proud of this year’s rally team that put this on. From the speakers, to the MCs to the band to the games, prayer teams and even the production and creative digital design, our youth ambassadors worked tirelessly together for nearly a year to prepare for this event,” Austin said.

Several team members offered short talks sharing their personal faith journeys, helping make the evening relatable for the diverse group of young people in attendance. Laylah Debian, co-host of the evening, said the variety of speakers helped connect with participants.

“Everyone had a different perspective so we could impact the diversity of beliefs and relate to attendees in some way,” Debian said. She said she was initially uncertain about how the event would come together, but those concerns quickly disappeared once the rally began.

“It was so much better than I thought it would be, praising and worshiping and having a good time,” she said.

For Maya Marquez, who also attended last year’s rally, one of the most meaningful moments was the prayerful atmosphere during eucharistic adoration accompanied by praise and worship music from Psalm 33. Marquez is a parishioner at St. Cecilia Parish in Wilbraham.

“I love spending time with God and how intimate it is,” she said.

Marquez also reflected on the significance of this year’s theme and felt it leads to a mission.

“It’s a bold statement and shows commitment and faith to Jesus Christ and it’s important to remember as followers we have to evangelize others to believe,” she said.

The rally concluded with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament followed by food and fellowship. Organizers hope the experience will continue to encourage young people throughout the diocese.

“This year featured such a unique situation in that the first youth speaker spoke about how he had not only his personal conversion, but then was responsible for bringing his friend to the faith,” said Austin.

“Later in the evening, we heard from that same friend, Matthew who gave a beautiful testimony. ‘A few years I was an atheist,’ he began and spoke with conviction of his road to Emmaus, his path towards conversion,” Austin said.

A video version of this story will be featured on Saturday’s edition of “Real to Reel,” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. on WWLP-22NEWS.