January 30, 2025 // Diocese

New Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries Aims to Foster ‘Unity within Families’

Jocelyn Rouch

The gifts of Jocelyn Rouch (formerly Alcala) lie in “forming and fostering relationships,” not only with young people but also with their families, making her the perfect choice to be named the new director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

Her position includes overseeing youth and young adult events as well as youth programs in parishes around the diocese.

Though she previously served as Associate Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries, she was initially unsure about taking on the new role.

“There was a real discernment that had to happen – both on my part and the part of the diocese, because I am a different person than John [Pratt, her predecessor]. I don’t have the same skill set or experience that he had. … He did a lot of great work, and I am thankful for the foundation he built,” Rouch said.

Ultimately, she felt God calling her to bring a more holistic approach to ministry, relying on her experience in the Echo Graduate Service Program at the University of Notre Dame.

“The Echo Program is a formation program that teaches whole human formation for ministers and laypeople in the Church,” Rouch said.

“Oftentimes, ministry today can become so event-focused that we forget that the whole point is to have a relationship with both the community of God but also with God Himself,” Rouch explained.

What makes her approach unique is her focus on the family unit.

“If we believe that family is like the cell, the nucleus of society, then we need to really focus on that. We’ve kind of strayed away and secularized the way that the family receives their formation,” she told Today’s Catholic. “The family is like a school, and when it’s not, everything just breaks down. So, I’m looking forward to greater unity within the families in parishes.”

Carl Loesch, secretary of pastoral ministries and catechesis for the diocese, shared his joy at Rouch taking on the role. 

“It is a blessing to work with Jocelyn,” Loesch said. “She and John Pratt did an excellent job forming and supporting youth and young adult ministers. They led large events from the March for Life in Washington, D.C., and Indianapolis, to World Youth Day in Panama and Portugal. She will continue to build on these successes.”

In the end, it is Rouch’s “love of the Lord,” Loesch said, that motivates her. “She wants to share it with everyone she encounters.”

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

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