LOCAL CATHOLICS TREASURE WORLD YOUTH DAY JOURNEY TO FRANCE.

Byline: JAMES BEMIS

For 14-year-old Aimee Janik, it was the papal Mass and candlelight vigil.

For her sister Michelle, 17, it was meeting teen-agers from all over the world who share her faith.

For their mother, Marilyn, it was the charm of Chartres and the wonderful French churches, resplendent with artwork and timeless beauty.

Having just returned from their trip to France as part of Catholic World Youth Day, each of the Janiks has her favorite memory. But they all agreed that this was the trip of a lifetime.

The Janiks traveled with 40 local youths and chaperones. The ``pilgrims'' were led by the Rev. John Sigler from St. Rose of Lima Church in Simi Valley and the Rev. John Love from Moorpark's Holy Cross Church.

After an all-night flight from LAX to Paris, they were bused to Chartres, where they stayed with local families. Madame Thirouin and her family proved to be charming hosts, making the Janiks feel as welcome as cousins.

The next morning, the family walked to the great 12th-century Chartres cathedral, an incomparable work of Gothic art. Historian Henry Adams calls its gorgeous spires, looking like two sets of prayerful hands extending toward heaven, ``the most perfect piece of architecture in the world.''

Inside, Marilyn said, the vaulted ceilings and stained-glass windows were breathtakingly beautiful. ``She couldn't stop taking pictures,'' Aimee recalled.

A Saturday night dinner gathering and an international songfest made the perfect place for the girls to make new friends. ``We met three girls from Poland, all of them named Magdalena,'' Michelle said.

That Monday, they boarded a train for Paris - an occasion the Janiks found both exciting and sad as it meant parting from new-found friends.

``I left my straw hat with Madame Thirouin's granddaughter,'' Marilyn said, ``and told her I'd come back to get it someday.''

Arriving in muggy weather, they soaked up the charms of Paris, touring with Eric Pierre Smee, a thin, black-haired Frenchman, alternately charming and devilish. ``Come on, you must keep up!'' he demanded, before breaking into a grin as wide as a Parisian boulevard.

The next two days were dedicated to study of Catholic history and faith at the Church of St. John the Baptist, followed by a packed Mass at the Sports Arena. Everywhere were people with World Youth Day badges. Pins were swapped for those of other nations and, Aimee proudly recalled, the ones from California were particularly prized.

Finally came the opportunity to see the Holy Father. The pilgrims arrived six hours early at Longchamps Race Track, hoping to find good seats. They planted themselves on the grass behind a section reserved for priests and watched as the crowd filtered in and the stadium filled - resulting in a two-hour line for the bathroom.

Suddenly, Pope John Paul II was there. The ``Popemobile'' meandered slowly through the crowd along a snakelike route cleared for for pontiff. As the crowd rose in greeting, the Holy Father smiled and waved, enjoying the enthusiasm of his youthful supporters.

He addressed the crowd in several languages, performing baptisms and confirmations before leaving for the evening to rest before celebrating Mass the next day. The Janiks tried to settle in, but the excitement of the pope's visit, along with the continuous singing and luminous beauty of the candlelight vigil, made for a restless night of little sleep and much talk.

Early-morning music and then a roar from the crowd signaled the pope's return to celebrate Mass. Estimates were that 300,000 would attend, but as Michelle looked behind her, she was ``overwhelmed by the masses of humanity.'' More than 1 million people had arrived, far exceeding expectations.

The Mass, lasting nearly three hours, was ``beautiful, inspiring, and went by too fast,'' Marilyn said. It ended with the crowd yelling ``Viva el Papa!'' as the pope left a flock of tired, wilted but nourished souls.

The final vacation stop was a side trip to Lisieux, the village famous for St. Therese, one of the church's most beloved saints. Then the pilgrims took the bus to the airport for the 11-hour flight home - a trip filled with memories, new jokes and tall tales.

The pilgrims arrived home broader in vision, deeper in knowledge, stronger in belief. Catholicism may be known as the Old Faith, but it's also the Young Faith: A million people at World Youth Day testifies to that.

G.K. Chesterton said that you can't really appreciate a Catholic church from the outside, but if you look through the keyhole, you'll see that it's gigantic within, each one containing a 2,000-year legacy of history and tradition.

For the Janiks, their pilgrimage offered them a peek through this keyhole, where they caught a glimpse of the richness and beauty of the Old Faith that lies so near to their hearts.

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Photo: Pilgrims from St. Rose of Lima Church in Simi Valley and Holy Cross Church in Moorpark visit the magnificent cathedral at Chartres, France, as part of Catholic World Youth Day.