Thirty-eight young adults gathered at Mount St. Francis in Southern Indiana March 21 to 23 for an Archdiocese of Louisville retreat designed to cultivate deeper friendships and a stronger sense of community.
“There were so many people that I knew already that I got to know deeper, and new people that I had never met before,” said Julia Barker, a retreat participant, during a phone interview afterward. “We started as total strangers on Friday night, and by Sunday afternoon, we were so close to each other.”
The idea for the retreat began among a few friends, said Hunter LeBlanc, a young adult who served on the retreat’s leadership team, during a phone interview on March 24.
The group, he said, noticed a longing for deeper friendships among local young adults and decided to bring the idea for a retreat to Michael Horace — director of the archdiocese’s Office for Youth and Young Adults.
The local Catholic community provides several ways for young adults to meet new people, LeBlanc said, noting, “It can be easy to continue to attend these things, but it can be hard to form those deeper relationships.”
“There were so many people that I knew already that I got to know deeper, and new people that I had never met before. … We started as total strangers on Friday night, and by Sunday afternoon we were so close to each other.”
— Julia Barker, retreatant
The retreat, which drew participants from 11 parishes in the archdiocese as well as young adults from nearby dioceses, aimed to offer the “opportunity to form deeper relationships,” he said.
Ethan Lawver said he was drawn to the retreat as an “intentional time” to put aside distractions and grow in faith, he said in a phone interview afterward.
But it also attracted him “as a way to get plugged in” and “grow in community with those sharing some of my beliefs and walking a similar path,” he said.
The retreat included talks presented by young adults, small group discussions, praise and worship, adoration and confession, as well as opportunities for personal reflection and recreation. It also included Mass with Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre and the opportunity to ask the archbishop questions.
Local opportunities for young Catholics — such as young adult groups, Bible studies, volunteer opportunities and informal sports gatherings — were shared at the retreat’s conclusion.
The retreat showed the young adult participants “that we are not alone and it takes a village,” Lawver said, adding, there’s a “village” available in the local area. “You don’t have to go searching far and wide. There are amazing young adult groups and parishes that have all of the spiritual amenities you need.”
He is looking forward to reconnecting with the opportunities for young adults offered in the area, he said.
