Attend

The YAG runs from Friday, July 10 to Sunday, July 12, 2026, or Monday, July 13 if you want to stay an extra day.

The YAG is open to single sedevacantist Catholics ages 18-35 (inclusive).

There are two (and a half) options for attending:

What’s New This Year

Updated June 10

Note: Exact times could still shift a little before YAG begins. You can count on the event’s start and end times; intermediate times sometimes vary. Be there at 4:00 PM Friday, and count on being free by 4:00 PM Sunday (or 2:00 PM Monday, if you’re staying for Monday’s activities). Depending on other parties’ schedules, things like the Rosary or speaker timing might move a bit.

• The plan at the moment is to stay and pray the Rosary in church on Friday and Saturday, rather than at the retreat center like last year.

• Last year’s very popular Nerf war will happen again! At the moment no parallel structured activity is planned — our wonderful painting instructor from last year got engaged and retired 😅. We’ll have a few more Nerf guns this year to allow broader participation (about 50, up from 40), and board games and popular sports from pre-2025 will be available too. There’s also nothing wrong with having a nice conversation on the sidelines while war ensues.

An optional extra night

This year, you can stay an extra night at the retreat center, with some low-key dancing Sunday evening for those who are around and so disposed.

The extra 4-day fee includes lodging for the extra night plus a light continental breakfast the next morning — but it does not include dinner at the retreat center on Sunday evening. Instead, there will be a nice 2–3 hour gap to go find food with your new and old YAG friends. You could spend $5 at the Taco Bell in West Harrison, $20 on fried chicken in Oldenburg (recommended), or $120 at Boca in Cincinnati (recommended if you can swing it — and can treat the YAGermeister). Veterans know the food at the retreat center isn’t very exciting, and people have always asked for a little more “choose your own adventure” at YAG. Here it is! Have fun.

Monday at Jungle Jim’s (optional — only 30 spots!)

If you’re just looking for an extra night to have some fun and crash cheaply before catching a late-morning flight, the simple 4-day package is for you. But if you want to stay and keep the party going (which we always do, unofficially, anyway!), grab a $33 ticket for Monday’s extra-fancy fun and a chef-cooked lunch at suburban Cincy’s star attraction: the rather incredible Jungle Jim’s “grocery” store — which, as you may know, is an unfathomably huge international food bazaar with its own monorail.

Its own monorail! Please use the contact form if you’d like to make the $1,500 donation necessary for us to rent the auxiliary space that grants monorail rights. But even sans monorail, it’ll be a great time.

We’ll do a scavenger hunt through the store with prizes for the winners — the store actually sanctions and organizes this itself, which is sporting of them — and then the food team at the Oscar Event Center will cook us a nice lunch from fresh ingredients (potentially the best food we’ll have had at YAG, unless you went to Boca the night before). After that, we’ll split into teams to build race cars out of vegetables and race them. I never would have thought of it, probably because I’m never thinking about vegetables, but apparently it’s a normal team-building exercise JJ hosts all the time. Who knew? Too much fun. We’ll be done by 2:00 PM — still enough time for later flights home, or a head start on those 10-hour drives.

Monday’s fun can be enjoyed by a mere 30 lucky people, so get buying!

I really wanted the original 4-day fee to cover everything, but I was a bit too optimistic when I priced it months ago. I hope the extra $33 is worth it for the great fun and food, for those who can join.

Approximate Order of Events

Code of Conduct

This is a Catholic event with a capital “C.” We expect all participants to mind their manners, language, and behavior and to set a good example for others.

Dress Code

Women: Dresses or skirts are required at all times. No pants or shorts. Skirts must be long enough to generously cover, not merely skim or come halfway over, the knees both while standing and while sitting down. This means that you need not-see-through fabric coming down uniformly below your knees. No slits. Longer is better, ladies! If a skirt needs leggings underneath to make it decent, it’s way too short. Quickest way to check length is to kneel down – if it puddles a few inches on the floor all the way around, that’s good.

Skin-tight, clingy, or see-through clothing is prohibited. Tops must have at least 1/4 length sleeves and must not be low-cut in the front or in the back. No cleavage, or even the suggestion of it, should be visible at any time. Sandals are permitted, but nothing that looks like sloppy flip-flops is allowed in the church. A head covering (hat or veil) must be worn at Mass.

Men: Polo or button-front shirts and slacks are preferred for the daily Masses. No tight shirts or pants (no skinny jeans!). No white undershirts worn as T-shirts. No shorts on church premises. No flip-flops or sandals in the church (although you may wear them outside on Saturday). No earrings at any time. A suit and a tie are required for Sunday Mass.

For Both:  Sleepwear should be approximately as modest as daily wear.

Release of Liability

By registering through the link below, you release St. Gertrude the Great Catholic Church and all sponsors and organizers of this event from any and all liability in case of injury or illness while attending this event.

Special Requirements

To avoid a repetition of past problems between potential spouses, the late Fr. Anthony Cekada laid down the following requirements for participation:

1. You are a sedevacantist.
2. You will not participate in Masses that are offered “in union with” Leo or where his name is inserted into the Canon of the Mass.
3. You reject in principle and practice the SSPV policy of (a) refusing communion with the clergy of St. Gertrude the Great Church and its affiliates and of (b) denying sacraments to laymen who receive sacraments from said clergy.
4. You believe that Baptism of Desire and Baptism of Blood are possible means of salvation for persons who die without Baptism of Water, provided they meet the other criteria set by the Church.

Failing to meet one of these criteria is not, on its own, grounds for losing your status as a Person We Like Having Around. But it is grounds for not coming to this specific Young Adult Get-Together.

(In case you are not familiar with these issues, we refer you to Father’s video Sedevacantism: How to Tell Aunt Helen, his short article Should I Assist at a Mass that Names “Pope Francis” in the Canon, his article and video on SSPV communion rules at the link Abp. Thuc: A Conversation with Fr. Cekada, and his article Baptism of Desire and Theological Principles.)