Our Beginning

Our founder, Steve Kerekes, began with a tremendous desire to evangelize his students through pilgrimages to Europe and World Youth Day. This has now grown into a organization that shares that same desire.  We choose knowledgeable guides who share a similar zeal and are faithful, living witnesses of the Catholic Faith.

Our Experience

If there were something like a frequent flyer miles status for leading WYD pilgrimages, we would have Platinum Elite Status especially because of our unparalleled World Youth Day experience in Denver, Manila, Paris, Rome, Toronto, Cologne, Sydney and Madrid.  This gives us a unique perspective on the WYD event and in the way we lead your group.  We have over 20 years of pilgrimage experience including the last 7 World Youth Days as well as our pilgrimages to shrines such as Lourdes, Fatima, Assisi and Rome.

Our Mission

JMJ YOUTH shares a common mission with youth ministers around the world, to evangelize, catechise and change lives. We create opportunities for young people to open their hearts to the Grace of God on pilgrimages. 

Our Philosophy

Our philosophy is simple: teach teens and young adults how to grow closer to God by removing the clutter of life and making room for Grace. We travel close to the ground encountering the history and culture of the people.

Our Guides

Groups that choose to travel with JMJ YOUTH are those who want to experience an authentic, WYD, Catholic youth pilgrimage led by guides who are faithful, knowledgeable, fun and seek to inspire greatness all the while being role-models of faith and life.

7 Reasons to CHoose JMJ YOUTH

1. Experience  JMJ YOUTH has more on-the-ground WYD experience than almost any pilgrimage company in the world.  We are veterans of Denver 1993, Manila 1995, Paris 1997, Rome 2000, Toronto 2002, Cologne 2005, Sydney 2008 and Madrid 2011.
2. Faithfulness  Our entire mission is to assist in imparting the Catholic Faith into the hearts and minds of the pilgrims God has given us.  Our staff, guides, liaisons and evangelization team all love the Faith and will do their part to inspire.  We do not offer pilgrimages for other faith traditions because we are not of another faith.
3. Cooperation  We will be working closely with the Archdiocese of Rio to insure seamless communication and logistical sanity. Our WYD experience allows us to advise the local committee with on the ground information from a pilgrim's perspective.  
   
4. Value  Be aware that many companies levy large surcharges just weeks prior to your final payment. While we have no control over the fuel surcharges airlines impose, none of our groups were asked to pay massive fees at the end or lose everything. We would be happy to provide references from our groups.
   
5. Flexibility  We will be offering numerous different options for Pre and Post WYD pilgrimages.  Your group can choose any option, different levels of accommodation or customize the entire experience.  We can offer suggestions if you are unsure of how different options would affect the trip.
6. Rio de Janeiro Our staff spends time with the WYD committee and staff of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at the Archdiocesan offices.  At our meetings, we gather important details and make recommendations gleaned from our experience. 
   
7. Flights Our staff is working with Delta, American, United, TAM, US Airways, Copa and other airlines to secure the proper seats for our groups. Flexibility by a day or two will be necessary in order to secure enough seats for all groups.
   

Not just a  trip, but an Authentic pilgrimage  experience