Youth ministry leaders from around the Archdiocese of Louisville gathered for prayer, networking and formation during the Archdiocese of Louisville’s 2024 Youth Minister Gathering Aug. 8-9 at the Flaget Center.
Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre celebrated Mass with the youth ministers and then commissioned them for service.
The 15 participants represented youth ministry programs offered around the archdiocese, including parishes in LaRue, Marion, Meade, Oldham, Washington, Hardin and Jefferson counties.
A highlight of the two-day gathering centered on the U.S. bishops’ new document on youth ministry, called “Listen, Teach, Send.”
The document is “a great affirmation of what we’re doing,” said Michal Horace, director of the Office of Youth and Young Adults, in an interview.
It also gives youth ministers a clear directive.
The document says leaders must first listen to the youth, Horace noted. Then, “We have to adjust our evangelization and catechesis based on their lived realities,” he said.
Shelly Cronen, who joined Our Lady of Lourdes Church’s staff in November and is also a mother, said during the gathering that she is invested in youth ministry because it creates a place for “the kids to be fed” spiritually.
She noted that many Catholic kids take religion as a class at their Catholic schools. If they attend a public high school or head to college and “there’s no longer a class, then what are you left with?” she wondered.
Youth ministry, she said, can help teens “take it a step further.”
After the gathering, Horace said he hoped the gathering built a greater sense of community among youth leaders.
“I hope that the youth ministers know they are part of a larger community and that there are colleagues to plan with, collaborate with, share joys and find a sympathetic ear.”
Michal Horace
“I hope that the youth ministers know they are part of a larger community and that there are colleagues to plan with, collaborate with, share joys and find a sympathetic ear,” he added.
I’m glad to see Justin Leiner with the Family Renewal Project participating with the Archdiocese of Louisville youth ministers. Hey Justin, how did you make it in all 3 pictures?