Last modified: Sunday, July 20, 2008 1:05 PM EDT Watching Bob Lesnefsky (Rapper Righteous B). Stubenville East opened up Friday night at the Natiional Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette with the Opening Session in the Main Tent. One with the Lord BY TIFFANY STANLEY FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE ATTLEBORO -- For the second weekend in a row, more than 2,000 teenagers are overtaking the grounds of Attleboro's LaSalette Shrine for the Steubenville East conference. By the time the conference wraps up on Sunday afternoon, nearly 5,000 Catholic youth from the region will have made their way through the event's big, white tents for three days of Mass, music and devotion. For some, the devotion won't end when the tents come down and the stage is disassembled. In fact, many will find themselves on the road to Attleboro again, since conference-goers often return year after year. This was, for example, 17-year-old Julio Ortega's third trip to a Steubenville conference. "The first day I love looking at people's reactions. That's how my first time was," said Ortega, who attends St. Cecilia's School in Kearney, N.J. "You feel like the experience just overwhelms you. Looking at those people, you think, 'Wow, I used to be that way.' " His fellow parishioner, Renata Martin is also a Steubenville veteran. Martin, 16, came back because she enjoys being with other Catholic teens. "My friends don't agree with it," Martin said. "They feel like it's different. That's why I like coming here because there are other people like me." Nathan Chartier, from Nashua, N.H., also appreciates not feeling like he's "the only Catholic on the face of the planet." A three-time conference-goer, Chartier, 17, attends Nashua's Immaculate Conception parish. "A lot of people describe it as fun and a good time," said Chartier of the event. "I say that too, but I also describe it as intense because God is ominipotent, all-powerful. He can do anything." Jimmy Contreau, 17, who attends youth group with Chartier, feels a similar intensity. "I love being here, and I think it's part of my calling," said Contreau. "I'm considering being a priest one day." Peg Ormond is one of Steubenville East's CORE team members, a group of about 12 who meet throughout the year to plan the annual event. Ormond doesn't see this kind of commitment in youth to be unusual. Pointing toward the thousands of gathered youth, she said, "That many teenagers on a Friday night in the middle of July praising God. No one's out drinking. No one's out having sex. We always hear the negative. The Church is alive. It's not dead." Ormond attended her first Steubenville conference as a youth leader in 1983. She tells her youth, "When you go back, I always say, that's when the real work begins. You've got to keep this going. It's not just a one-weekend experience. It's a lifetime." Chartier always feels changed by the Steubenville experience. "Each time I come, I know God's going to do something different in my life. I might not expect it, but I can't put expectations on it. It can surpass anything I can imagine. This is a place where I can get away from the world and just try to deepen my relationship with him." For 11 years, LaSalette Shrine has been hosting Steubenville conferences, which began in Ohio in 1976. Today, there are 14 conferences around North America, where 40,000 teens will gather this summer. For more information on Steubenville East, go to www.steubenvilleeast.org.