By Linda Peterson
At the SEEK25 conference in Salt Lake City, thousands of Catholics gathered 1-5 January with a hopeful outlook for the Catholic Church’s future.
Over 17,000 attendees participated in the main event organised by FOCUS, the Catholic missionary outreach to college-aged students.
Another 3,000 joined SEEK’s satellite event in Washington 2-5 January Deacon David Jaramillo, a seminarian from Wisconsin, expressed hope for the future, seeing the energy of young people as a positive sign.
He said that “it’s up to us” to share Jesus through the church Jesus founded, even as challenges remain in spreading the faith.
First-time attendee Christopher George, a student from Wichita State, echoed this hopeful outlook, believing the church will survive, even if it faces some struggles.
Others, like Dominican Sister Marie Bernadette Gareis, found the event energising by showing the growth that’s happening in the church.
“It’s really nice to be here and actually see like that’s definitely not the case for what I see,” she said.
“It seems like the church is very much alive, and the Holy Spirit is always going to be there, keeping the church alive. Jesus said, ‘I am with you to the end of time,’ so I don’t think it’s going anywhere. And it’s really encouraging to see the growth that’s happening.”
Many attendees, including families and religious leaders who joined the event, were inspired by witnessing the strong faith of young people and how they were carrying it forward in the world.
Sisters Joann Heinritz and Eileen McCann, both Sisters of St Joseph, saw a great response from conference participants at their booth promoting their order at SEEK25’s Mission Way vendor hall.
The church needs to make some changes to more effectively draw young people to the faith, they said.
“Our young people are looking for community. They’re looking for meaning in life, and our church can offer that, but we have to make some shifts,” Sister Eileen said.
“We’ve got to go where they are. They’re not coming to us, so we’ve got to go where they are and show the Spirit to them and show that the Spirit is within them and pull that forth.”
FOCUS announced the 2026 SEEK conference will take place in Denver; Columbus, Ohio; and Fort Worth, Texas, continuing this year’s momentum.
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