Diocesan Youth Conference and College Campus Ministry Summit
The lights were low in the ballroom of the Greater Richmond Convention Center. Christian praise and worship music played. Two large projector screens, cameras on tripods, and audio boards were set up. Emcees and speakers ran onstage to loud cheers. Students and campus ministers waved large flags and banners. The energy was like a rock concert and the rock star was Jesus.
This was the annual Diocesan Youth Conference (DYC) and College Campus Ministry Summit (Summit). This year, DYC and Summit were in downtown Richmond the weekend of Feb. 10-12.
Buses arrived Friday night, carrying 700 high school students from 64 parishes to DYC and 440 college students from 21 colleges to Summit. Joining them were dozens of volunteers, chaperones, priests, seminarians, and women from religious orders.
It was an enthusiastic group, ready for a jam-packed weekend of events focused on celebrating youth and young adults who are energized by their Catholic identity.
“It’s always inspiring to be able to encounter young people who have such enthusiasm to express their faith,” said Bishop Barry C. Knestout, who spent the weekend alongside the students. “I hope it’s as inspiring for them as it is for me.”
The annual retreats run concurrently, though mostly in separate areas of the convention center and neighboring Richmond Marriott Downtown. The Summit students pack all their events into 24 hours and leave Saturday night; DYC students continue with their events until Sunday early afternoon.
“These two events provide an opportunity for youth and college students to grow in their faith and to meet other people who care about their faith, too,” said Andrew Waring, director of the diocesan Office for Evangelization, which organizes the events.
A theme for the weekend
The theme of this year’s DYC and Summit was ‘From the Rising of the Sun to its Setting’. The message was simple. In a world that is constantly changing – from technology to friends to social media trends – only one thing is constant: God loves us and will always be there for us.
The students dealt with a weekend of changes – from changing locations to changing activities – further illustrating the point: the one thing that never changes is God’s love. “God’s presence is permanent.
He will never stop going after us,” Sister Mary Casey O’Connor, of the Sisters of Life, told hundreds of students. She was one of the two keynote speakers. “Who you are depends on whose you are. And he made us to belong to him.”
Psalm 113 tells us “from the rising of the sun to its setting, let the name of the Lord be praised.” The theme of the weekend is a reminder; Jesus is constantly giving himself to us because he loves us, so we should be constant in praising him. This praise means dying everyday to the whims of the changing world.
“If it’s worth dying for, it’s worth living for,” the other keynote speaker, Catholic evangelical speaker Jimmy Mitchell, told Summit students during their closing session. “Even the martyrs died 1,000 deaths to themselves before they had a chance to be martyred.”
‘You are not alone’
Another resonating message throughout the weekend was that we are not alone; and no matter how big God is, our lives and our problems are not insignificant.
Friday night during the opening address, Bishop Knestout used a star-tracking app on his phone to describe how one can feel small and unimportant in the universe – but God cares about each and every one of us.
The bishop continued that thought the next day during his homily at Mass. The Gospel was about the wedding at Cana. The bishop explained that running out of wine at a wedding was more of an embarrassment than a crisis, yet Jesus intervened because he cares about the things that matter to us.
Sister Mary Casey also reiterated that thought during one of her talks. “God doesn’t just love you – he likes you. He adopts us as his sons and daughters. He chooses us because we are worth it. Knowing that casts out any fear that we’re alone.”
Students say being surrounded by a sea of Catholics at DYC and Summit helped them to not feel alone.
“It’s been great to see all the young people who also feel the way I do,” said Gabriel Mendoza, a high school student from St. Mary’s, Blacksburg. “I feel supported to continue in my faith.”
Philomène Sturgeon, a sophomore at William & Mary, said this was her first time going to Summit. “It’s really helped me to be in a Catholic community; I felt isolated before.”
Laura LaClair, associate director for campus ministry in the diocese, said DYC and Summit “changed the trajectory of my whole life.” She first attended in 2013 as a student and realized the “Catholic Church was bigger than the one church I went to” when she saw the community of Catholic students, priests and sisters.
Ten years later, she’s now an event organizer and says she con- tinues to witness the energy and momentum stirred by DYC and Summit. “It helps students make the transition from high school to college. Kids who went to DYC will seek out campus ministry and Summit in college.”
Bringing the sacraments to the students
The weekend included fun, noisy social events including a comedy troupe, a Star Wars scavenger hunt, and rooms with carnival games and huge inflatables. But when asked, most of the students said the highlight of the weekend was having the sacraments.
Saturday morning, both DYC and Summit merged for Mass in the convention center ballroom. A reverent quiet overcame the room that had been filled with noise, talking, and laughter just minutes before. Bishop Knestout, joined by about 30 priests and seminarians, concelebrated Mass.
“God is transforming our hearts. The change won’t necessarily be something external,” the bishop told students during his homily. “This is how God will lead us to something magnificent.”
Numerous students said it was powerful to see so many priests in one place. They said “Mass with the bishop” was the “coolest” part of the weekend. Adults shared the same sentiment.
“The best moment of the weekend, for me, was Saturday’s Mass,” said Waring. “It was a quiet moment of prayer and worship in the midst of a busy day.”
“To see so many people quietly and reverently participating in Mass and to have so many of the priests of our diocese present, it’s a highlight every year,” he added.
Students also had the chance to go to the sacrament of confession. More than 20 priests from across the diocese heard confessions Fri- day and Saturday.
Reagan Roy, from St. Mary’s, Blacksburg, was beaming as she said, “I liked going to confession. It was really freeing.”
Quiet time for prayer and spending time with Jesus was encouraged. Saturday night, both groups took part in separate sessions of Eucharistic adoration. A chapel was also set up in the convention center.
Ellie Garrison and Kaylie Gutierrez, from Church of the Epiphany, Richmond, both said one of their favorite things was praying the rosary Saturday morning.
Sturgeon said, “my best moment was when I went to the chap- el. All the hype and noise is great, but I enjoy the quiet, too, where I can reflect.”
Putting Catholic faith into action
Between the breakout sessions and other activities Saturday afternoon, teens took part in a meal-packing service project as a way to put their faith into action during the conference.
Rise Against Hunger, an international nonprofit that coordinates packaging and distribution of food to those in need, was on site. Long assembly lines were set up in the lower level of the convention center. Students packed and weighed rice, soy beans, vegetables, and a spice/vitamin pack into bags.
“The kids are really instrumental in packing a lot of food in such a short amount of time,” said Katherine Parker, a volunteer from Sacred Heart, Prince George. “They spend a lot of time in formation and fun, but they also give back.”
Sheila Russ, from Rise Against Hunger, agreed. “This is a big impact event, both for the communities they’re helping, and for the teens.”
Overall, students packaged nearly 51,000 meals on Saturday, filling 236 boxes. Most of the organization’s meals are shipped to school feeding programs and ‘last mile communities,’ which are remote, impoverished areas around the world.
“What we did today is an experience that stays with you, for days, years afterward,” said Delaney Mayette, from Holy Trinity, Norfolk. She attended DYC all four years she was in high school and has now returned a second year as a chaperone.
“It’s unforgettable how many lives are impacted.”