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Florida’s Future Priests Find Hope for Religion After Million-Person Mass With Pope

Catholics from nearly every country visit Lisbon, Portugal, for World Youth Day

“The young people are the future of the church, and it’s great to see a lot of young people here at WYD,” said Mr. Velasco.
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Florida’s Future Priests Find Hope for Religion After Million-Person Mass With Pope
Florida seminarians gather for World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. Courtesy of Tyler Gates
T.J. Muscaro
T.J. Muscaro
8/7/2023|Updated: 8/7/2023
0:00

TAMPA, Fla.–Three young Florida men studying to become Catholic priests were surrounded by more than a million reasons last week showing why there’s hope for their ministry, despite what they see as an ongoing push against religion.

Tyler Gates, 26, Caleb Malec, 23, and Ricardo David Velasco, 18, attend seminary—college to train priests—in the Tampa area.

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T.J. Muscaro
T.J. Muscaro
Author
T.J. Muscaro is an award-winning reporter and NASA Correspondent for The Epoch Times, covering the Artemis program, Space Force, and other public and private ambitions within the growing space industry. Based in Tampa, Florida, he also covers stories of extreme weather and disaster relief, as well as various matters of national and international politics.
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Florida
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World Youth Day 2023
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