Niahve Rivera, 21, an altar server at St. Patrick Church, Bay Ridge, cannot believe she is fortunate enough to be going to World Youth Day (WYD) in Krakow, Poland, with her parish. This will be her second World Youth Day, having traveled to Rio de Janeiro for WYD 2013.

“I’m excited to be in that atmosphere of love, especially given the atmosphere of hate in the world,” she said.

Rivera is one of 22 pilgrims going with St. Patrick as part of the 400-pilgrim contingent from the Diocese of Brooklyn. The international gathering of the young Catholic Church is taking place July 26-31.

St. Patrick’s WYD Pilgrimage Director Romeo Petric has taken young people to the WYD pilgrimages multiple times. This year’s group is formed by youth active in parish ministry as well two men from nearby parishes St. Mary Mother of Jesus, Bensonhurst, and Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dyker Heights, he added.

“I can’t wait to see what it is like, to see how people from different places experience their faith,” said Daniel Petric, 18, Romeo’s son.

Daniel has heard from his brothers about WYDs in Sydney, Madrid and Rio and hopes that World Youth Day could be a “coming of age” pilgrimage.

The group will visit churches in Dublin, Ireland, and Rome, Italy, before arriving in Poland, Petric added.

In addition to a lot of fundraising, he said the pilgrims have prepared through meetings, doing community service for the St. Vincent de Paul Society and helping at local soup kitchens. The excitement permeates all their meetings.

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Brendan Moloney, 21, a catechist in the parish and first-time WYD pilgrim, said he is excited to go to a country that is so rich in its Catholic faith, and to a city that was so close to Pope St. John Paul II. The events he is looking forward to most are the Masses with Pope Francis, especially the closing liturgy on July 31.

“We will camp out in sleeping bags and wait overnight for the Mass,” he said. “I think that is going to bring the whole Brooklyn Diocese group together.”

Gabriela Staniszewski, 20, also is going to her first WYD with her sister Emily, 17. Going to Krakow for the first time also means a lot.

“I’m half Polish, so to be able to go to one of the places I know my family is from is really exciting,” she said. “I just want to submerge myself in the culture during that week.”

In addition to staying in touch with the strong faith her family professes, she has been volunteering and spending a lot of time in church reflecting on everything and working with the children’s choir.

“My faith is a moral compass for me, and a constant in my life no matter what I’m going through I know God is always with me,” she said.

Preparing for the trip has strengthened this outlook.

“We have experienced adoration (as a group) and putting ourselves in God’s presence and reflecting in the opportunity and experience that we have, it can be very humbling,” she said.

Michele Cipriano, 20, a catechist at St. Patrick, also feels blessed to go to her second WYD.

“This isn’t a vacation. We are going for a purpose, we have a mission,” she said. “I’m preparing for this trip differently, doing service activities with a new perspective.”

She is trying to go to daily Mass and is expecting God to act in her life during the pilgrimage. She also looks forward to the youth living their faith in a fun way, with songs and the vibrancy typical in these international gatherings.

“We are fortunate to even be going to experience this,” Rivera added.

For Rivera, who is traveling to Krakow with her younger sister, this is a chance for the pilgrims to enhance their relationship with God, deepen their understanding of the universal Church and to forge relationships with people from around the world.

Like other St. Patrick pilgrims, they have been volunteering more in church as way to prepare for the pilgrimage. As a Confirmation teacher at the CCD school, Moloney is trying to be an example to others.

“It was because of the great examples of the young adult groups at the parish that I wanted to get involved,” he said. “I want to show that if you get involved and dedicate yourself to your faith, then opportunities come your way.”

The diocesan pilgrims will meet July 17 for a Mass at the Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston, with Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio. The Tablet will provide full coverage next week and throughout the WYD proceedings.