NYD 2025, the Cáceres Way

By Sem. Samuel Jed Llorin

A YOUTH GATHERING, TO ME, ISN’T NOVELTY. The Marian Youth Congress (MYC) held annually during the September Peñafrancia Festivities has been a familiar sight. The Youth Encounter (YE) in parishes, which I have attended at least once during my High School Seminary years, are filled with memorable experiences.

Whenever the National Youth Day (NYD) would be the talk of the town, all eyes would be on us -Cáceres seminarians studying at the interdiocesan Seminary of the University of Santo Tomas. Both fellow seminarians and regular students brim up with excitement! In fact, a few brothers and Thomasian friends opted to visit Bicol, some doing so for the very first time.

Sem. Samuel Jed Llorin with some of the NYD delegates at the Our Lady of Peñafrancia Parish and Shrine, Naga City.

I strongly believe that the very first question a pilgrim might ask before a trip to a new place would be: “What would it be like there?” I had no prior experience of the NYD, so I also pondered on the same question myself: “What would NYD be like, organized by Cáceres?”

One might be quick to think about organizational strategies -the activities, time management and logistics. But we need not look at these alone. 

So, what made the celebration of the NYD this year characteristically Cáceres?

What makes Cáceres distinct as this year’s host of the NYD is not merely the program it has created for the thousands of delegates coming over; any other Diocese can organize and execute the grandeur of a national gathering. 

Indeed, the identity of Cáceres lies in its greatest treasure –the devotion to Inâ, Our Lady of Peñafrancia. This is the gift of faith we are proud to treasure as our own, but also ready to share with others. 

The NYD was an opportunity to share that faith with the Filipino youth of today. The activities that this year’s NYD successfully accomplished were fruits of that faith, expressed in our great love and solidarity with the youth during the course of the gathering. Indeed, the devotion to, and the presence and maternal care of Inâ are not limited to Bicolanos alone. 

Participating in the NYD 2025 was a personal first. I was assigned with a group of delegates from the Diocese of Dumaguete, who were not as proficient in Filipino and English as they were in Bisaya; and I have to admit, I wasn’t as proficient in Bisaya as well. We were in a linguistic abyss; but in the end, we all understood the silliness of our laughter and the depth of our sharing.

If there are a few things that struck me during this gathering, in comparison to previous youth gatherings I have attended, it would be how incredibly diverse the youth are in one place and the reality of diversity that hit me firsthand through a community exposure experience at the Peñafrancia Shrine. 

NYD 2025 left in me a twofold impression: the energetic ardor of the youth of today, and the willingness they possess to be bearers of hope to the Philippine Church. These were manifested in their active participation in the different activities, done through the efforts of the centros and pueblos, and the welcoming environment of the harongs (foster families).

The promising effort to spread the devotion to Inâ, the hospitality of the Bicolanos, and the meaningful and exciting activities are what have truly made this year’s NYD, the Cáceres way.

Facets of expressing and sharing the devotion to Inâ, Our Lady of Peñafrancia, during the National Youth Day 2025. (Photos by Natalie Hazel Quimlat)