By Laura Brennan
GREENWICH — The Steubenville conference in Massachusetts, and Taylor Tejada’s encounter with Jesus, was a month-old memory that echoed in his present day like a call: “What could we do to bring more youth to our community?”
Taylor answered the call and helped start the Sacred Heart Church youth group in 2024. It has grown to nearly 40 high schoolers.
Taylor had received an invitation to the St. Aloysius youth group in New Canaan, where he was welcomed, and it ultimately led to his attendance at Steubenville. He wanted that for the youth of his own parish, Sacred Heart Church in Greenwich.
A rising sophomore at Greenwich High School, Taylor went to see Cecilia Bowers, director of religious education at Sacred Heart Church, where Taylor had been a student.
Taylor said, “Hey Cecilia, I had this idea for a youth group.” He shared his experiences from St. Aloysius and the Steubenville conference. He explained that he wanted to start something at Sacred Heart Church.
“She was happy that I wanted to bring kids back to their faith and that’s how it started,” Taylor said. They began with a humble, ordinary, generic name: Youth Group. Cecilia sent emails to the parents of former religious education students inviting them to join.
The group of students who came together from a simple email invitation started with a big undertaking: make the 11:30 a.m. Mass into a Youth Mass every third week. “We were very brave,” said Cecilia remembering the first Youth Mass.
The youth group gets together the day before to prepare for the Mass. Gilberto Mendoza, a youth group member, said that the first thing they do is to take a pen and paper, write down prayer intentions, and put them in a bag. Next, they assign roles: gift bearers, readers and ushers.
Gilberto said that new students are often shy to volunteer, but over time they build confidence. Now two years in, Cecilia shared that they’ve added a bit of singing.
The youth group gathers 30 minutes before Mass to pray the rosary together. Their bag of prayer intentions, which has been getting bigger and bigger, is placed in the middle as the students pray.
Taylor said Cecilia inspired them to pray the rosary before Mass. He said she taught him that “it is a good habit to get into and to dedicate in our own lives a little bit of time to pray the rosary, either before bed, before a big test or whatever.” Taylor said, “She really taught us that the rosary can be used for anything.”
At first, Taylor was surprised to see so many arriving early for the rosary. Now, rosary readers are assigned at the Saturday meeting, the prayer intention bag at the center carries years of offered prayers, and parishioners have started coming at 11 a.m. to pray the rosary with them.
The service of the youth group has grown along with its membership. The students get into the dirt and plant flowers to decorate the church. In the fall, each student plants a mum.
“Personally, I enjoy teaching the younger students who are preparing for Communion and Confirmation,” said Guadalupe Muniz, a youth group member who had been a part of the religious education program herself. “It’s very meaningful to me because I get to help them learn about God and their faith.”
Neighbor to Neighbor is a nearby organization where youth group members volunteer to extend their service into the community. Students help organize donations, and stock shelves with food, clothing and other essentials. They especially enjoy packing “DoorDash” bags with requested items that will be delivered directly to the residents.
Alejandra Gonzalez brought a few school friends to help with Neighbor to Neighbor. She said they were not all Catholic but they felt so welcome. “All they were talking about for the rest of the school week is how much they loved it and how much they loved how sweet we are,” she said.
Youth group members Kendrick Alvarado, Taylor and Gilberto shared that they loved when people bring friends along. They spoke on top of each other as they exclaimed, “Yes!” “Absolutely!” and “100 percent!”
For projects that require more hands and fewer skills, Cecilia started a “Never Too Young to Serve” program where seventh and eighth graders are invited to join the youth group. She invites students who are currently enrolled in religious education. Many current youth group members were introduced to the projects in just that way.
Christ’s presence in Taylor’s life didn’t live in his memory of Steubenville, it burned in his heart. He wanted that for the members of his newly created youth group.
Cecilia knew that the youth group members would benefit from the Steubenville conference. She said that the cost is approximately $400 per student and that none of those in the youth group could pay the full cost.
Sacred Heart Church applied for and received the St. John Paul II Fund for Faith Formation grant. The grant supports parishes and diocesan organizations with innovative approaches to religious education and youth ministry programs.
In 2026, Sacred Heart Church received $5000, up from $3500 the year before. “The reason for the increase this year is because of their success,” said Carol Incarnação-Schirm, J.D., Interim Director of Foundations in Faith.
The grant supported five students to attend Steubenville in 2025. That number doubled to 10 in 2026.
Gilberto, a junior in the youth group, attended Steubenville. Conferences are held throughout the country and he attended the conference in the East, which is held in Springfield, Mass. Students come from Vermont, New Hampshire and even Canada. Gilberto said it was life changing.
Meeting Jesus in the Eucharist during adoration was the most profoundly moving part of Steubenville for him.
Kendrick, who attended Steubenville in the summer of 2026, described the music during the Eucharistic procession as the priest walked around with Jesus Christ himself. “It was an amazing experience,” he said.
Alejandra felt the energy as soon as she arrived at Steubenville. She shared that she was shy and a bit nervous to attend. Meeting students who shared her faith was inspiring. She remembers her group picking tee shirts with St. Michael the Archangel as well as Bible verses on them.
Alejandra recalled Reconciliation as a particularly moving experience. “It truly felt like a conversation, like we were just talking, and I never felt more comfortable and also freeing,” she said.
Hundreds of students stood in line for confession. She saw other students with similar struggles confess, and she knew that they too were prioritizing their faith. She said, “It was honestly just really beautiful.”
“Being surrounded by thousands of other young Catholics gave us an incredible sense of
community,” said Isaith Lucero Jimenez, another youth group member who attended. “The powerful worship, impactful speakers, and deep moments in adoration really renewed our spiritual lives,” he said.
Cecilia has been inviting students and supporting the growth of the youth group for over two years. She said that she has learned from her mentor, Chris Otis, youth minister at St. Aloysius in New Canaan, where Taylor first attended.
Cecilia said, “My theory is you throw the net out. You might catch one fish. Now you have one fish. If you don’t throw it out, you catch no fish.” The youth group began this way, one email invitation at a time. Now the students themselves invite friends and cast their own nets to keep the group they love growing.
