November 24, 2025 // Bishop

The Young Church Rises Up

Scott Warden

Editor-In-Chief

In the first chapter of the Book of Jeremiah, the prophet recounts how he was called by God to bring the people of Judah back to the Lord amid a rise in idolatry and unfaithfulness. But Jeremiah, the son of a priest, saw himself as unfit to preach to the People of God.

“‘Ah, Lord God!’ I said, ‘I do not know how to speak. I am too young!’” Jeremiah says. “But the Lord answered me, ‘Do not say, “I am too young.” To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you’” (Jer 1:6-8).

Jeremiah, Scripture scholars believe, was just a teenager when he was summoned, scared and uncertain, but by trusting in God, he found his voice, and over the course of decades, he urged the Judahites to turn away from their sins and worship the Lord.

From November 20-22 during the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Indianapolis, nearly 130 young people from the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and 16,000 of their peers from across the United States were told that, like Jeremiah, their voices and their leadership are vital to building up God’s kingdom on earth.

‘A Desire to Give Their Lives to Him’

In the early 1980s, the U.S. bishops encouraged the creation of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) to advance the field of pastoral ministry to young people in the United States. NCYC – the key initiative that came out of this effort – has been held every other year since its launch in 1983. Initially, the events were held in two different cities, but in 1991, these regional conferences converged into one national conference. It has been hosted in Indianapolis since 2011. Both Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center are used to host Masses, Eucharistic adoration, praise and worship music, and keynote addresses and breakout sessions led by top Catholic speakers and clergy.

Officials in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend’s Office of Youth and Young Adult Formation encouraged parishes throughout the diocese to register groups for NCYC.

Jessica Tillinghast, associate director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Formation, said their goal “was to provide support for the priests, youth ministers, and chaperones who are the ones doing the real work of walking with the youth through their high and low moments. We pray that each youth encountered Our Lord during this conference and comes away with a desire to continue to give their lives to Him.”

An Inspiring Experience

Alexis Duffy, director of youth ministry at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Granger, which had 27 teens attend the conference, said her previous experience at NCYC had a profound impact on her faith – and her life.

“I remember sitting in one of the main sessions when I came as a senior in high school and looking up at the keynote speaker and leaning over to my youth minister and saying, ‘I’m going to do this one day.’ So, NCYC absolutely was the place where I felt called to ministry.”

For Father Andy Barnes, who serves as a parochial vicar at St. Pius and as a chaplain at Marian High School in Mishawaka, this was his first experience attending NCYC. After concelebrating daily Mass at St. John the Evangelist Parish, located directly across the street from the convention center in downtown Indianapolis, Father Barnes told Today’s Catholic that while the conference is a bit chaotic, “It’s good chaos,” Father Barnes said.

“It’s really edifying just to see so many people on fire and in love with the Lord,” Father Barnes said. “We just came out of daily Mass, and seeing how full it was in there with young people who are desirous of the Lord and the Eucharist, it’s encouraging.”

This year’s conference was the second for Ava Alvarado, a junior at Bishop Dwenger High School who came with more than a dozen other teens from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fort Wayne.

“I first came my freshman year of high school,” Alvarado said. “It was a lot of fun, and I’d say that I definitely grew my faith during that first conference. This year, how I’d put it is that I’ve been able to kindle that fire.”

The Universality of the Church

Several youth leaders who spoke to Today’s Catholic noted that they hoped the teens from the diocese realize that they aren’t alone in their faith – that there are kids from across the country who are yearning to grow in relationship with Christ.

Father Barnes said it’s important for young people to get outside of their parish bubble and see that the Church is “bigger than simply themselves and that we’re not in this alone and that we can really draw on one another and build ourselves up like the Body of Christ that St. Paul talks about.”

Alivia Wheeler from St. Jude Parish in Fort Wayne said it’s been eye-opening to see “that there are this many Catholic youths in our country.”

Omar Nunez, who helped to chaperone a group from St. Patrick Catholic Church in Ligonier, said after experiencing NYCY, he wants to “encourage the Latino community to send our young people to these types of events … which will encourage them in their faith and make them stronger in spirit.”

Duffy said that “it’s important for them to have a sense of the universal Church, and seeing all these Catholic people here helps them to know that they’re not alone and that faith is a thing that can be lifelong.”

Bishop Rhoades, who joined the diocesan pilgrims for dinner before concelebrating the conference’s closing Mass, told Today’s Catholic that NCYC is “very impactful on the young people who attend. First of all, their experience of the Church is often in their school or their parish, but here they see young people like themselves from all over the country. And there are quality talks, they’re praying together, and the enthusiasm for the Faith – I think it really does impact them a lot. As a matter of fact, our young people who are here, I was asking them as I was going around talking to them at the dinner, and each of them shared how happy they were and that their faith was strengthened.”

An Encounter with Pope Leo

One of the foundational experiences at this year’s event was a live encounter with Pope Leo XIV, who joined via video conference during the event’s morning session on Friday, November 21. Pope Leo interacted with the crowd for nearly an hour as he answered questions from five teenage attendees. He touched on topics including friendship, technology, prayer life, and more, and told the young people in the audience, “You are not only the future of the Church, you are the present,” adding, “your voices, your ideas, your faith matter right now.”

While his presence alone touched the hearts of the attendees, they were also struck by the wisdom of his answers.

“I really liked how he was so able to relate the Faith to our world now,” Wheeler said. “He knows what he’s talking about with technology and AI. …  Him being able to relate to the youth, I thought that was really cool, and then he specifically said that politics is not our faith and that our politics are not our label, which I really liked.”

Josephine Hilger, a student at Bishop Dwenger who attends St. Jude Parish in Fort Wayne, said: “I really liked how Pope Leo used the examples of Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, especially with St. Carlo and how he balanced his technology with his life, because I think that’s really relevant today. I just found it so cool that he took the time to talk with us.”

Alvarado said she appreciated the questions the students came up with to ask Pope Leo because they “showed how similarly we think as teenagers. We all have the same questions about life and Catholicism. … He touched on different aspects of friendships, how to be a young person in the Church today, and how we don’t always have to look to the future because we should be living in the moment because we’re a part of the Church today. That matters a lot to me, because I teach religious education to young children, and even they should feel like they’re a part of the Church. Hearing the pope speak about that meant a lot to me.”

Caitie Cataldo, who serves as an associate pastoral minister at Marian High School, said it’s important for the students to understand that “not a lot of people get to experience the pope in their lifetime. … These kids feel a closeness to Pope Leo that is so endearing, and I think in some ways, it seems like they feel arm in arm with him. They are ready to rise up in the Church, to rise up to fight for the Faith, to rise up to serve. To have an American pope, I think they feel a closeness to him that is really endearing.”

Father Barnes told Today’s Catholic that it was “a really great blessing” to be a part of Pope Leo’s first live encounter with a group in the United States. Father Barnes said what struck him was the “intentionality of his answers and the true genuine care that he displayed toward young people. It wasn’t something where he was just trying to answer and put on a show, but there was this real genuine care for not only the young people of the U.S. but I think for the Church as a whole. And he really sees that those of us who are here – and every part of the Church – are essential to building up the Body of Christ.”

‘I’m Filled with Hope’

Father Barnes said throughout the conference, there was an emphasis “on the call to sanctity, the call to be saints … and that we’re called to transform the world around us. I hope that’s kind of motivating and energizing to the teens who are here and that they’re empowered in realizing, ‘I can be a saint. God is calling me to sainthood.’”

Cataldo told Today’s Catholic that this was the sixth time she has come to NCYC. She said it’s hard to explain to people who have never attended just how powerful the experience is.

“If you haven’t been there, even if you’ve watched the livestreams, it doesn’t do it justice. The faith of the youth is so palpable. Walking into Lucas Oil Stadium and seeing 16,000 kids on fire for faith, it feels like you’re getting a little glimpse of what heaven will be like.”

Bishop Rhoades said he was impressed with how deeply the conference had impacted the teens he spoke with.

“Three of the young men talked to me about thinking about the priesthood, and I thought, wow, this has really helped them in their discernment,” Bishop Rhoades said. “I’m sure with the young women, too, because there are women religious here who they see, which they may not experience in their own parishes. So, they start thinking, oh, that’s a possibility. God might be calling them to the religious life.”

At the dinner on Saturday night, Bishop said, “I loved going around and talking to the kids. I just see their goodness, and when they speak to me and ask me questions or share their experiences, it’s just really beautiful. I feel like the Lord has touched them, and I just hope they continue to grow in their faith and stay close to the Church. I’m filled with hope when I talk to our young people.”

Scott Warden is editor-in-chief of Today’s Catholic.