Sarah, Michele and Eric Campbell stand on the edge of the Blue Mountain Echo Point Overlook during a trip to World Youth Day, held July 15 through 20 in Sydney, Australia. The Campbells of Summit Township chaperoned 10 students from St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Butler and St. Fidelis Roman Catholic Church, which has sanctuaries in Lyndora and Meridian.

A group of Butler County travelers are staggering back this week from Sydney, Australia, where World Youth Day was hosted July 15 through 20.

The Catholic promotional event is offered annually on a diocesan level, however weeklong international versions are held every two to three years in different locations.

The last event occurred in 2005 in Cologne, Germany.

Ray and Carol Mitch of Oakland Township are among more than 600 attendees this year from the Pittsburgh Diocese, said to comprise the largest showing at the event other than the host diocese.

The Mitches traveled with three of their four children and six other youths from St. Wendelin Roman Catholic Church in Carbon Center and St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Butler.

"The kids had the opportunity to hear speakers and Catholic leaders from all over the world," Ray Mitch said. "We listened to an archbishop from Ottawa and then socialized with fellow Catholics from South Africa, Brazil and everywhere in between."

"It was really cool to realize that you are not alone in your faith," said Tommy Mitch, 16.

"We were all there for the same reason," said his 14-year-old sister Amy. "It was powerful."

Caitie Grossman, 19, of Boyers, attended with a group of 12 from St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church in Murrinsville.Although attendees could choose between various religious and secular activities offered simultaneously around Sydney, Grossman said her favorites included attending a Catechetical session, one of several offered throughout the week."I think I got the most out of the Catechesis session, because you could actually talk to the archbishop and ask him questions," she said.Grossman also listed the Featherdale Wildlife Park in Doonside among her favorite venues.Visitors there could touch and feed animals such as wallabies, emus and kangaroos.Grossman described the experience of being housed in a school, where the group camped indoors with sleeping bags. Australia's winter temperatures added to the adventure of wearing swim suits outdoors while waiting in line for public showers, she said."It was 20 to 30 degrees out there," she said.Stephanie Hilliard, 15, who attended with a group from St. Peter Roman Catholic Church in Slippery Rock, also cited the wildlife park as a favorite. Her religious favorites included a citywide staging of the Stations of the Cross."They had big screens all over Sydney," she said. "They actually moved it around. They didn't keep it in one spot."The Campbell family of Summit Township had three representatives who took 10 students from St. Paul and from St. Fidelis Roman Catholic Church, which has sanctuaries in Lyndora and Meridian."My defining moment was during the first day when we were all cold and tired from (a long delay at Pittsburgh International Airport)," said Michele Campbell, a recent graduate of the University of Pittsburgh."We were standing in chilly temps awaiting the arrival of the pope when I asked everyone to just find a space in this convention center to just take time for Eucharistic Adoration."An hour and a half later we reunited and it was so awesome to see the excitement the kids felt about being in the presence of the Lord."Her brother Eric, a 20-year- old seminarian, said Bishop David Zubick was among the more inspiring parts of the trip."It was a beautiful experience as he encouraged our youth about being young and strong and Catholic," Eric said.

Their sister, Sarah, 25, experienced her second World Youth Day, but this time from the perspective of a chaperone.At the end of a long day attending Catechesis sessions and seeing the The Sydney Opera House — a site for the Stations of the Cross enactment — Sarah Campbell said a few in their group met a Capuchin friar."He told us how wonderful it was for Sydney to have so many Catholic youths from across the world flooding the streets of Sydney with such an outpouring of kindness and love for the Lord," she said.Rachel Ferguson of Butler Township, who was traveling with the Campbells, said the vigil of waiting when Pope Benedict XVI arrived by boat "was the most amazing experience.""It was the first time we were all together and united despite our languages and cultures," she said.Grossman said the event culminated with a six-mile pilgrimage on foot to the Randwick Racetrack, the site of an allnight vigil that preceded a morning Mass said by the pope.The theme of this year's event was "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses."Although the trip cost was about $2,000, many attendees began fund-raising two years ago to prepare for the trip.Many fundraisers included hoagie sales, with hoagies donated by Youthtowne, a Catholic organization in Pittsburgh.

A group of teens from St. Wendelin Roman Catholic Church in Carbon Center and St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Butler pose with a Pope Benedit XVI replica in Sydney, Australia, where the pope said Mass July 20 to conclude the World Youth Day event that began the previous Tuesday. Pictured, front row from left, are Megan McCreary, Amanda Nordquist, Harley Skibicki and Amy Mitch. In back from left are Neal Skibicki, Tommy Mitch, Ray Mitch, Carol Mitch, Jeff Mitch and Trevor Nordquist.

From left, Caitie Grossman, 19, and Kristy Ice, 18, visit the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, during the World Youth Day event July 15 through 20 in Sydney, about 48 kilometers away. The teens were among a group of 10 teens and two chaperones who attended from St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church in Murrinsville.