Prayer, Then Party Time : Religion: Some youths sneak in revelry between World Youth Day events. Teen-agers seize opportunity to meet those of opposite sex, even take excursions to off-limits venues.

They have flocked here to celebrate the spirit of Catholicism, but piety and reverence only go so far when you’re young and away from home.

More than 2,000 young people from the Diocese of Orange are here for World Youth Day and to glimpse Pope John Paul II. But many concede--some more boldly than others--that the much-heralded event is also sort of a big party.

“It’s being sponsored by the Pope, and we’re here with our church leaders,” a 17-year-old Buena Park boy said as he boogied on a chair to an M.C. Hammer tune. “Of course I don’t want to give my name; I don’t want the leaders to know that it’s Party Time! Yes! Yes! Yes!”

As he screamed the last few words, the dancing teen-ager waved his arms in the air and fell off the chair in a swoosh.

True, the Orange County delegates are here to practice religion, but in between and around their set schedule, they’ve made carefully carved-out time to do Denver.

“Hello, I’m from Irvine, California,” 21-year-old Peter Phan said, shaking hands with a group of strangers who, like him, were walking around Celebration Plaza looking for new faces to greet. “I don’t know when there will be another time in my life when I’ll be in the same place with so many people my age.”

The Orange County contingent, including more than 800 Vietnamese-Americans, joined 175,000 others from around the world to celebrate World Youth Day. The event, ending Sunday with a closing Mass with the Pope, was created by the Vatican to recognize and nurture the religious enthusiasm of international youth and young adults, ages 13 to 39.

For the last five days, downtown Denver has vacillated between being a place of near holiness and a social stage.

Here, around their tight schedule of Mass, pilgrimage and sermons, the Catholic youth of Orange County have swapped addresses and phone numbers, traipsed beneath the city lights, and even started some romances under watchful eyes.

“Even though we’re here for religious reasons, teen-agers are going to be teen-agers and we’re going to meet a lot of people and, sooner or later, some of us are going to meet that one interesting person,” said Jesse Griffith, 16, of Huntington Beach.

He wouldn’t say who his “interesting person” is, but he acknowledged that she lives in Yorba Linda and he met her during one of his “girl-hunting trips.”

“There’s not much time for that--you’re always busy and the chaperons are always there with you--but you make do,” he added.

Many young people say they have “cool” adult supervisors who don’t bridle their exhilaration.

“They have to watch over us, we know that,” said Michelle Donellan, 16, of Huntington Beach. “Actually, ours are pretty young at heart.”

Indeed, the chaperons of the Diocese of Orange are understanding. It was their idea to host a dance at their hotel Friday night for all those who couldn’t get tickets to see the Pope that night.

Invitation was by word of mouth and more than 300 people attended the dance, where music was either provided by a corner jukebox or anyone willing to sing aloud.

“We decided to have this dance because the kids needed to vent, to just have some quality time in a closed setting to get to know some of the people they merely shook hands with on the street,” said chaperon Andrea Jolliffe. “We’re not here to curtail their spirit.”

Those with more rebellious souls said adult supervision was a hindrance, so when an opportunity presented itself, they slipped away unnoticed for excursions to forbidden places.

Several young men from Orange County made a decidedly unreligious pilgrimage to Hooter’s, a downtown bar and grill, where waitresses wear skimpy shorts and T-shirts and golden oldies blare in the background.

It was here one night that five teen-agers from a North County church sneaked away from the rest of the group and the watchful eyes of their chaperons to have dinner.

“If we’re caught, we’re dead meat,” a 17-year-old Anaheim visitor said smilingly, while flirting with a waitress. “I’m here because no one knows I’m here and it’s not praying time right now.”

However, most World Youth Day participants were more contained and did not stray from their group activities. They did not need to break their chaperons’ rules, they said, to have fun.

Denver police said Friday that problems involving event-goers have been few and minor.

With the approval of adult supervisors, the young people--many of them away from home for the first time--explored the city streets and all the amenities of Denver.

The hands-down favorite site seemed to be the 16th Street Mall, a mile-long pedestrian plaza in the heart of town. Here, they shopped to their hearts’ content in the more than 65 shops, including stalls of international goods and crafts.

“I’ve bought so much, I have $1 left,” said Marina Hamm , 14, of Huntington Beach, and she pulled out her pocket lining to prove it.

Given their limited free time during this five-day whirlwind event, many young people used their leisure not to explore the city and shop, but to seek out strangers.

At all times, on the streets or in the courtyard of Celebration Plaza, young people of all ethnicities approached, shook hands or hugged one another. They exchanged signatures on bags, hats and clothes. Strangers danced with strangers in Celebration Plaza to various music.