July 29, 2022

Teens head for Steubenville East Conference to be held in Springfield

REGIONAL
By Carolee McGrath

 

SPRINGFIELD – More than 1,100 teens from across New England and the New York metro area are expected to converge on the MassMutual Center in Springfield for the Steubenville East Catholic Youth Conference, July 29-31. This is the first time the retreat has been held in the Diocese of Springfield.

Two-hundred youth from 14 parishes in the Springfield Diocese will be part of the crowd.

“Coming out of COVID at a time when many parishes are struggling to rebuild their youth programs, I am absolutely thrilled for this opportunity,” said Joseph Austin, the director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Springfield.

“Today I learned that there are more than 50 priests attending the conference, many from our diocese. What an incredible opportunity for all of us to come together in shared faith, to encounter our Lord Jesus Christ in downtown Springfield,” he said on Thursday, July 28. Austin said this is the greatest number of priests ever to attend a Steubenville conference. “We are making history.”

Steubenville East has been canceled for the last two years due to the pandemic. Typically, as many as 3,000 teens attend the conference, which includes inspiring talks, eucharistic adoration, Mass, confession, and praise and worship music.

“As a Franciscan University alumnus, I’m super excited for my youth to experience the Steubenville East conference for the first time here in Springfield,” said Father Ryan Rooney, the pastor of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Springfield. This is the first time the parish has sent teens to the conference.

“We’re very grateful for the diocesan and parish-based fundraising efforts that are allowing many kids to attend. These teens don’t know what’s in store for them. It is so difficult to witness to the faith in a hostile environment these days. Hopefully, they’ll come away with a fearlessness to proclaim Jesus,” said Father Rooney.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Fearless,” based on what Jesus said in the Gospel of John, “Take courage, I have conquered the world” (John 16:33).

The line-up includes Sister Miriam James, of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, as the emcee for the weekend. Renowned Catholic speaker and author Mark Hart will also speak to the youth during the weekend. Hart and his wife have three daughters. The executive vice president of Life Teen, he produced the popular DVD Bible study series, “T3.”

Other speakers include Catholic author and evangelist Chika Anyanwu; Catholic speaker and podcast host Nic Frank; and Franciscan Friar of the Renewal Father Augostino Torres, who also hosts EWTN television shows “Icons” and “Clic con Corazon Puro” in Spanish.

Music will be a major part of the weekend as each session will be kicked off by the praise and worship band, led by Andrew Laubacher, also known as “Alob,” from Ventura, Calif.

“It is so good to finally be here in Springfield this weekend,” said Sarah Houde, director of events for Life Teen. “There’s something so rewarding and beautiful about -rebuilding something from the ground up. This weekend we get to see all of the planning efforts of so many people over so many months come to fruition to create this amazing opportunity for these teens.”

All week, different teens have been leading the prayers in a novena to St. Therese of Lisieux for those attending the conference. The novena is posted on diocesan social media, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

“I hope and pray for all of our youth, our chaperones, our priests and our communities as we begin this conference together. May the Lord guide our steps and may he bless all of us as we may walk away with a renewed faith and hope for our Catholic community in western Massachusetts,” said Austin.