Congratulations to the Top Entries in the Youth Video Contest to Welcome Our Holy Father to Washington!

Thank you to all who participated in the Youth Papal Video Contest! We received some wonderful videos from throughout the region that demonstrated the great spirit and enthusiasm our area youth have for the visit of the Holy Father.

Of the 47 entries the Archdiocese of Washington received for its youth video contest welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to Washington, the top three have been chosen. Each group receives 15 tickets to the April 17 Papal Mass at Nationals Park and the opportunity to have its video shown as part of the pre-Mass program at the stadium.

Winners:
Southern Maryland Catholic Elementary Schools
St. Rose of Lima “Children Love Christ Choir,” Gaithersburg, MD
Seton School, Manassas, VA

Honorable Mention:
Resurrection Parish Youth Ministry, Burtonsville, MD
St. Michael School Grades Pre K-K, Ridge, MD

The contest, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington, was open to Catholic youth groups of five or more in grades K-12 in the Archdiocese of Washington, Archdiocese of Baltimore and Diocese of Arlington. They were invited to create two-minute original videos to welcome the pope to Washington.

A panel of eight judges made up of media professionals from the Washington area and archdiocesan officials judged the entries on enthusiasm, creativity and clarity of message.

"The diversity of styles and imaginative approaches among the entries made it difficult to choose overall winners,” said judge Patricia Ryan Garcia, assistant director for Digital Media for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Students in grades K-8 from the 12 Catholic elementary schools in Southern Maryland worked together on their entry, which they turned into a history lesson. Their video focuses on the founding of Catholicism in the English colonies, shooting it at three important Southern Maryland sites - St. Clements Island, St. Mary’s City and Chapel Point in Port Tobacco.

Twenty children in grades 3-7 from St. Rose of Lima parish children’s choir sung an original song welcoming the pope for their entry. The music and lyrics were written by Margaret Ann Clifford, the parish’s composer.

One ninth grader and four 11th graders from Seton School captured their excitement for the papal visit in their entry, which shows them going door to door letting their neighbors know the pope is coming to Washington. The video is set to original music and lyrics written and sung by the students.

See some of the videos that reached the finals of the contest!