FOCUS Missionaries and Students Return from SEEK24 Energized in Spirit

Story by Shelley Wolf

Eliza Harris, a biology major at Central Connecticut State University, has attended the SEEK Conference before, but somehow this year was different. Rather than being drawn out of curiosity, she made this year’s trip out of spiritual need.

“I was just desiring a week spent devoted to God, spending every second of the day learning more about God and doing so with my friends,” Harris says.

The most moving moment? “Just seeing 20,000 people sing ‘Salve Regina,’” she recalls. “Everyone was so reverent and in love with Mary.”

Harris was among 38 people from the Archdiocese of Hartford who attended the SEEK24 Conference in St. Louis, Mo., from Jan. 1 to 5. Hosted by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, or FOCUS, this year’s annual conference, with its theme “Be the Light,” drew more than 19,000 attendees.

SEEK24 was aimed at calling young people into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church, providing nonstop opportunities to grow closer to God and learn more about the Catholic faith.

College students attended keynote talks by national speakers, participated in Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, engaged with men and women religious at booths representing their orders, and witnessed noted Catholic speakers podcasting live.

“It’s Catholic Disneyland,” Harris says of the many activities and opportunities for spiritual encounters.

Attendees were encouraged to “choose their own adventure” by selecting two or three talks per day, known as “impact sessions.” Among the most popular were “The Eucharist as an Antidote for Anxiety and Depression” and “How to Evangelize Your Protestant Friends.”

Karolina Minkiewicz, one of five FOCUS missionaries at CCSU, says, “The highlight for me was seeing the encounters the students had during the week – the talks, the prayers – and seeing hearts touched by Jesus in just a few short days.”

Minkiewicz also enjoyed a presentation by Msg. James Shea, the president of the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D., who stressed that sainthood is attainable for all.

“That’s something I want to bring back to the students,” Minkiewicz says. “It’s not just for the saints you see in stained glass windows. Through the sacraments and community, sainthood is attainable for you as well.”

Simon Rees, another CCSU FOCUS missionary, says the most important takeaway for himself was “how holiness can happen in the mundane, doing normal everyday things, and offering it up to God. It can suddenly become a prayer. That’s an opportunity to grow in holiness.”

Rees was also inspired by speaker Chris Stefanick, who encouraged the young people to use SEEK24 as a catalyst to enthusiastically go out on mission, evangelizing the faith. “We need to continue to live out our faith and grow it,” Rees says.

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair was among more than 40 bishops who attended this year’s conference. Father Michael Casey, pastor of St. Francis Parish in New Britain, Father Anthony Federico, director of Vocations for the Archdiocese of Hartford, and James Hunt, the CCSU Catholic campus minister, accompanied the contingent from the archdiocese.

Archbishop Blair, who says he had “a wonderful time,” notes he was most struck by the extraordinary reverence the young people displayed after receiving the Eucharist.

“The moment that characterizes my impression,” Archbishop Blair says, “was at the end of a Mass with 20,000 young adults, when the communion hymn was finished and there was silence and you could hear a pin drop until the prayer was prayed. Absolute silence from over 20,000 young people at Mass. That speaks as loudly as the very spirited and wonderful talks.”

To view a music video about SEEK24 created by the CCSU Newman Club, visit https://youtu.be/OupMbi45Hts.