Forty-one teenagers and young adults and 17 adult chaperones from the Diocese of Sacramento gather in their purple tee shirts with Auxiliary Bishop Richard Garcia outside their Rome hotel before walking to St. Peter’s Basilica for the opening ceremony of World Youth Day.

The delegation from the Diocese of Sacramento, including young adults ages 17 to 35 from 12 parishes from Vallejo to South Lake Tahoe, left for Italy Aug. 5 after a sendoff prayer and blessing from Bishop William K. Weigand at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Sacramento. The group was to tour France and Italy before arriving in Rome for the World Youth Day celebration Aug. 15-20.

The World Youth Day participants have spent the past 18 months raising money to pay for their pilgrimage, according to Cheryl Tholcke, coordinator of youth ministry for the diocese who is accompanying the pilgrimage group.