NCYC 21 FAQ's

The Local NCYC event is a Catholic Youth Conference that will be held on Saturday November 20, 2021 in the spirit of the National Catholic Youth Conference that is taking place November 18-20th in Indianapolis, IN.  The day includes prayer, music, breakout sessions, exhibits, lunch, Mass and more!

Saturday November 20th, 2021
Arrival is to the Gym Building at the St. John Paul II Youth Retreat Center
499 Belgrove Drive Kearny
Doors will open at 9:30am for check in
The day concludes with Closing Mass at 5pm.

All high school students in grades 9-12 during the 2021-2022 school year are invited to attend.  Registration and attendance is by a group only.    We require an official chaperone ratio of 1:10. This means that there must be one Safe Environment cleared and trained chaperone, age 21 or above, for every 10 youth registered.  Safe Environment trained Young Adults, age 18-20, may attend as adult leaders, but do not count toward the chaperone ratios.

Registration takes place entirely online.  A parish/ school should identify a Group Leader - PCL, Youth Minister,  Clergy, etc and they should complete the Online Registration Form to secure spots.     It can be accessed here.

A sample permission slip for the day is provided on the Local NCYC page and should be collected and carried by the Group Leader the day of the event.  It can be accessed here

The cost for the day is $20 per person.   Cost includes all programming for the day and lunch.  Payment may be sent via mail, or turned in the day of the event.    Checks should be made payable to “Archdiocese of
Newark”.
If mailing, please send it to:
Local NCYC
Office for Youth & Young Adult Ministry
499 Belgrove Drive
Kearny NJ 07032

We would ask you to convey this to our office no later than FIVE days before the event so that appropriate plans can be made.

Group Leaders and the Adult Chaperones that a parish/ school bring for the day are responsible to oversee the teens they bring in their group, their behavior and typical medical needs that might occur.  Chaperones and Group Leaders should sit with their teens in the General Sessions, and attend breakouts as well.   If a medical situation occurs you can alert Archdiocesan Staff that will be present that day for assistance.

Over the years at the National Catholic Youth Conference a culture of “trading” things has emerged.   Things such as hats, beads, rosaries, prayer cards, etc.   A BIG thing that many groups do at NCYC is purchase wooden clothespins and write little positive messages, or their parish social media, etc on them.  Participants then discretely “pin” someone on their clothes without the other person even realizing!   We encourage parishes to bring some items for their teens to trade while there for the day.

We would LOVE for your priest to join us for ANY part of the day.   There is no program cost for priests, religious, seminarians, or deacons to attend!   We would just ask that you either alert us ahead of time that someone is coming, or have them contact Rich Donovan at richard.donovan@rcan.org to let us know.    Our Closing Mass is at 5pm.   All Priests are invited to concelebrate with Bishop Saporito.

Please know that we are keeping a pulse on the current realities regarding Covid-19 and are making plans accordingly while also following the current guidance from the Governors Office and the Archdiocese of Newark.   Due to the fluid nature of the shifting landscape that impacts our planning efforts, we are holding some announcements and final plans regarding Covid-19 protocols until we get closer to the event.   The Office for Youth & Young Adult Ministry appreciates your patience and understanding!