July 22, 2025 // Bishop

Teens from the Diocese Flock to Catholic Summer Youth Camp

Clare Hildebrandt

Reporter

‘This Camp Has the Ability to Change Lives’

“It’s abnormal for an entire week of camp to be a single diocese. … So, for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend to book an entire week is something we look forward to every year,” said Caryn Cherry, counseling director at the Catholic Youth Summer Camp. “For this week to be just one diocese total is just amazing, and for their bishop to also attend is quite beautiful.”

This summer, dozens of students from the diocese – most from Bishop Dwenger High School – packed their bags to head to Catholic Youth Summer Camp in Brighton, Michigan, a satellite campus of the Catholic Youth Summer Camp (also known as Damascus) on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio.

The summer camp aims to equip young people to live the faith with zeal while also living in a world that is often opposed to such living, offering the Fort Wayne teens an opportunity to open their hearts to be transformed during a week of prayer, fellowship, and physical activity.

The campers also engaged in traditional camp activities such as high-ropes courses, swimming, rock climbing, and zip-lining.

On the final day of camp, Friday, July 11, Bishop Rhoades celebrated Mass for the students and staff, encouraging all to grow closer to the Lord as they return home to their families.

Celebrating the feast of St. Benedict, Bishop Rhoades detailed the life of the great saint, encouraging all to ask for his intercession.

For Lily and Sophia Munice, twins and incoming seniors at Bishop Dwenger, Catholic Summer Youth Camp (CSYC) provided an opportunity to encounter God’s love before beginning their final year of high school.

“[At CYSC], I was able to spread my wings a little bit more and get more comfortable with making new friends and just encouraging people to take the faith life more seriously and follow Jesus more,” Sophia said.

She continued: “There was just a lot of healing that went on when we were being prayed over. There was even a camper here who is not Catholic and is now thinking about becoming Catholic. [CSYC] can be life-changing for everybody, and you encounter God in so many different ways.”

Her twin sister, Lily, added: “I feel like I’ve grown a lot since the beginning of the week. I’ve been struggling a lot with different things. … I felt I separated myself from God. This week has revived me and brought me back to Him. I’m even thinking of becoming a missionary here.”

Cherry told Today’s Catholic, “The thing about Damascus that I love is that we leave these kids with a powerful encounter with Christ and, at the same time, recognize we’re not going home with them – they can’t take their counselor and put them in their pocket and take them home. They will go home to their diocese, parishes, and bishop. We want them to learn to love their own dioceses.” 

“To have the support of [Bishop Rhoades], and for him to come all the way out to middle-of-nowhere Michigan and say Mass is just so good for the campers to see,” Cherry added. “I imagine they think, ‘Wow, my bishop actually cares about me and invests in me.’”

Cherry said Catholic Youth Summer Camp aims to prepare young people not only to live their faith now, but also for challenges later in life.

“If you can encounter Jesus at a young age and live faithfully with the Lord, many things that you go through in high school and in college and in young adult life become easier,” Cherry said. “You are not floundering and drowning waiting for some other ministry or person to pick you up.”

Cherry told Today’s Catholic that campers from the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend are staff favorites at CSYC.

“If you look at any youth group in Fort Wayne, it is so healthy, so vibrant,” Cherry said. “The kids are so well catechized and on fire for the Lord. This is a diocese that has honored their youth and invested in their youth consistently. This isn’t Fort Wayne’s first time bringing a whole week’s worth of kids. They’ve been doing this for a long time,” she said. 

Matthias Hefty, a first-year camp counselor and native of the Fort Wayne area, told Today’s Catholic about his joy at seeing his fellow Fort Wayne natives at camp.

“It is just great to see our bishop here,” Hefty said. “And it is just so crazy seeing people from my hometown. I am just happy that I am not the only one who gets to experience Jesus in this way. This camp has the ability to change lives, and I hope He does just that.”

Clare Hildebrandt is a staff writer for Today’s Catholic.