More than 400 high school-aged youth from the Archdiocese of Louisville and their adult chaperones will join thousands of other Catholics in Indianapolis Nov. 20-22 for the National Catholic Youth Conference at the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium.
In addition to its slate of speakers, Mass, adoration, music and exhibits, the conference will offer attendees the opportunity to participate in a dialogue with Pope Leo XIV.
Pope Leo is expected to participate in a live 45-minute dialogue with the 15,000-plus youth the morning of Nov. 21.
One local teen — Ashton Jones from St. Dominic Church in Springfield, Ky. — is getting a closer look at the dialogue with the Holy Father.
“I’m really excited to hear and have this live communication with the pope. He can relate to a lot of the situations that we go through as teenagers in America.”
— Ashton Jones, youth parishioner at St. Dominic Church
Jones was selected to help represent youth from across the country in preparing for the papal dialogue. During online meetings prior to the conference, she and the other representatives offered feedback about what themes matter most to teens and what they would like to ask Pope Leo XIV.
Jones, a senior at Washington County High School and active participant in St. Dominic Church’s youth ministry, also will participate in the dialogue with the pope from the stage of the Lucas Oil Stadium.
In a recent interview, she said she hopes that the pope talks to the youth about his own experience as a teenager raised in the United States.
“I’m really excited to hear and have this live communication with the pope. He can relate to a lot of the situations that we go through as teenagers in America,” such as periods of loneliness and peer pressure, she said.
The papal encounter will also be available to view via livestream on Nov. 21 at 10:15 a.m. To register for the livestream, visit nfcym.leadlms.com/questionnaires/81.
