National Catholic Youth Conference 2023
NCYC is a place where seeds of vocations are planted in hearts of teens
Viatorian Brother John Eustice poses for a selfie with Amanda Mullin, left, Bella Vazquez and Kara Hartz on Nov. 16 in the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis during the National Catholic Youth Conference. The youths came to the conference in Indianapolis from the Archdiocese of Las Vegas. Brother John, a transitional deacon, serves at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Bourbonais, Ill. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)
By Sean Gallagher
When archdiocesan seminarian Kristopher Garlitch first came to the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC), he was a high school senior and a member of St. Mary Parish in North Vernon.
While he was discerning a possible priestly vocation at the time, taking part in a Mass at NCYC in which many archdiocesan seminarians were assisting in the liturgy helped confirm in him God’s call.
“It was attractive to me to see them serving at Mass all together,” said Garlitch, who is now in priestly formation at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad. “I still think of that. That’s where I saw them together for the first time.”
At NCYC this year, Garlitch got to do what he witnessed many seminarians doing when he was a high school senior—assisting in liturgies and taking part in a eucharistic procession.
Openness to a variety of vocations was emphasized during NCYC.
At 19, Bridget Hegarty was technically a chaperone at NCYC for youths from the Diocese of Springfield, Mass. But discerning God’s will in her life was still very much on her mind and her wish for the high school students traveling with her to Indianapolis.
“You get so much insight from so many people in so many different ways of going about the faith,” Hegarty said. “It’s good for kids in high school who don’t know what they want to do in life yet to get a little peek at everything and then choose what they want.”
She spoke with The Criterion on Nov. 16 in the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis after speaking with Providence Sister Marilyn Baker at a booth for her religious community, the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in western Indiana.
“They give me hope,” said Sister Marilyn of the youths at NCYC. “I think they’re searching for something that’s going to have a real impact in their lives. Having us [here] sharing our work and our charism helps them to see that there is a vitality in the Church.”
Kara Hartz and Amanda Mullin, both from the Archdiocese of Las Vegas, spoke with The Criterion after visiting with Viatorian Brother John Eustice, who ministers as a transitional deacon at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Bourbonais, Ill.
The girls were amazed at the broad variety of priests, seminarians and religious at NCYC.
“It’s interesting to see so many different kinds of people, especially nuns,” Kara said. “But it’s also a little overwhelming.”
“I love seeing all the different people and how they practice their faith,” added Amanda.
While many people involved in promoting vocations in religious orders were at the conference, Brother John was quick to emphasize that leading young people to their vocation is the work of all the faithful.
“Everybody is a vocation promoter,” said Brother John. “It starts in the home and among friends. I’m a religious because my friends sold me on it. They saw something in me, knew the Viatorians and said, ‘John would be good at that.’
“My hope is that every single person knows that God’s invitation is waiting for them and probably will come to them from someone they’re not expecting.”
Dominican Sister Mercedes Torres serves as the vocations director for the Dominicans of Mary Mother of the Eucharist based in Ann Arbor, Mich. She spoke with The Criterion on Nov. 17 in Lucas Oil Stadium.
Looking out at the 12,000 teens filling the floor and stands of the stadium filled her with wonder.
“It’s such a blessing,” Sister Mercedes said. “These young people come here because they choose to be here. They choose to have an encounter. They’re hungry for it. That encounter is what’s going to help them grow and understand over time their vocation.”
She and everyone else at the stadium looked forward that night to eucharistic adoration. Sister Mercedes said that time of prayer and an encounter with Christ in the Eucharist could be an important moment in the vocation journey of many at NCYC.
“Right now, the Lord is planting seeds,” she said. “Just seeing the religious, seeing the priests and speaking with them is all very encouraging to them. The Lord is working in their hearts now.
“The encounter with the Eucharist that they’re going to have here is going to be what transforms their hearts and opens their hearts to what he’s going to do to bring them to himself and their vocation. For a lot of them, that’s going to start here.”
As Garlitch saw the 12,000 Catholic youths at NCYC, he appreciated their openness to the faith and wondered what the future held for them.
“Them just being here is a sign of that openness,” he said. “This is kind of the first step for them, in a sense, no matter what vocation they’re called to. Just being here is a good start.”
(For more information on vocations to the priesthood and religious life, visit the website of the archdiocese’s vocations office at HearGodsCall.com.) †
