Our Lady of Assumption parish in Ingleside took 30 youth to the 20th Youth Spectacular in 2002. Group leader Paulette Storms said the young people were there to learn how to love the Lord while young, rather than later in their lives. Archived Photo

As years pass and Youth Spectaculars continue, it is good to remember all those who made the Youth Spectaculars–well...spectacular!

Sister Jude Janacek, the first Youth Director for the Diocese of Corpus Christi, remembers some people who helped her make the Youth Spectaculars “amazing” and provided the template for Youth Spectaculars to come. She recalls individuals like Jim Unverferth, Brian Reynolds and Tom Hooper who helped her with planning the early Youth Spectaculars.

Sister Jude recently saw Hooper in Rockport and spoke with him about this year’s 30th anniversary of Youth Spectaculars. Hooper is a retired Exxon Mobile Engineer who lives in Wyoming and was surprised that Youth Spectaculars were still going strong.

“Jim and I helped Sister Jude with the numbers,” Hooper said. “We were college students studying engineering and we were good with numbers, Sister Jude was not. Anyone who has ever met Sister Jude knows that she is sincere and pure and a person just felt the desire to help her with anything she needed.”

Other people that Sister Jude remembers as contributing to the early Youth Spectaculars include Augie and Minnie Soliz from Gregory and Portland, Rachel Munoz from Most Precious Blood Church and Deacon Alfonso Ramirez from Our Lady of Perpetual Help. She remembers Deacon Ramirez as a young man who assisted her with the many workings of Youth Spectaculars.

Deacon Ramirez continued his ministry with the Youth Spectacular under the direction of Sister Jude until 1990.

The first junior high Youth Spectacular for students in grades 6-8 was held in 1991 at the Corpus Christi Pastoral Center on Lantana with some 1,000 youth in attendance. Subsequent junior high Youth Spectaculars were held at the Bayfront Plaza, now known as the American Bank Center. In 2000, the middle and high school Youth Spectaculars were combined in order to coordinate their efforts with other millennium conferences.

After evaluating the event, it was decided to return to separate gatherings the following year.

Albert Saenz, at left, master of ceremonies and Father Pete Elizardo, motivate youth to welcome the guest speaker at the 2002 Youth Spectacular. Archived Photo

Father Pete Elizardo, who was ordained in 2001, served as co-director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry and the following year became the Youth Director. Father Elizardo remembers the hard work it took to continue to coordinate the Youth Spectaculars.

“I had a great team helping me do all that was needed to have the Youth Spectaculars ready for the youth. People like Alfonso Ramirez, Fred Castillo, Jeremy Youngers, Nellie Serna, Cindy Delao, Omar Pena and many other youth ministers from the diocese did a lot of the work in coordinating the event,” Father Elizardo said. “I remember the Diocesan Youth Council and other youth leaders from the diocese that would help decorate the day before and would stay up all night doing the work behind the scenes, practicing their skits and doing setting up and cleaning up at the location.”

Father Elizardo said it’s important “for all the youth from all our parishes to know that though we are many from different parishes, we are one church. No divisions–like we are from here and you are from there, but that we are all one family, one body, one church.”

Father Elizardo remained the Youth Director until September 2010.

As the Diocese of Corpus Christi is coordinating the 30th anniversary of Youth Spectacular this year, anyone who is interested in helping be a part of this special event should contact the Office of Youth Ministry at the Chancery. This year’s theme is “30 years of sharing the Faith–Youth Spectacular.”

This year’s Youth Spectaculars will be held at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds on Sept. 22 for the middle school youth and Sept. 29 for the high school youth. Information on this year’s Youth Spectaculars is online at www.dioceseCC.org/youth.

As One Body, the Office of Youth Ministry is asking for everyone’s participation in praying for the youth and that many can come to experience this gathering of youth in our diocese that Sister Jude started. Everyone is invited to the closing Mass, after which they will have the opportunity to thank Sister Jude and many others that helped keep Youth Spectacular remain a viable evangelizing tool for the youth of the Diocese of Corpus Christi.