Baltimore takes lead role as SEEK24 Conference ignites spiritual growth

SEEK24 took center stage in downtown St. Louis Jan. 1-5, attracting more than 20,000 attendees from the Catholic Church, with the Archdiocese of Baltimore taking a leading role and securing its position as the largest sending diocese on the East Coast. 

Tailored for college students and young adults, the event aimed to fortify faith and broaden the church community.

“It’s a joyful environment to be surrounded by thousands of other Catholic college students,” SEEK24 attendee Peter Jauquet said. “It’s a really great way to start the year.”

For Jauquet, a UMBC student who is a parishioner of Our Lady of Victory in Arbutus, interacting and worshiping with students from other universities brought a sense of community he’s never experienced. Jauquet is the student president of the Catholic Retrievers on campus.

Father Matthew Himes, crucial in guiding this initiative, as the associate director of vocations for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and chaplain for Campus ministry at UMBC, conveyed the importance of SEEK as an opportunity for individuals to connect with the Lord in a meaningful way, emphasizing its contribution to the larger mission of the church.

“I’ve seen how this experience has facilitated that in the lives of college students, reminding them and building them up to feel like they’re part of something more perfect,” Father Himes said.

The conference saw a notable surge in attendance, reaching 19,707 paid participants from across the country, reflecting a 28 percent rise from the previous year.

SEEK witnessed significant involvement from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, contributing a contingent of 200 participants.

In total, 24,000 faithful gathered to fill The Dome at America’s Center.

Proudly reflecting on the Making Missionary Disciples program, which experienced an 81 percent increase in enrollment, Edward Herrera, executive director for the Institute for Evangelization in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, shared his optimism for the future of the church, attributing it to the impressive level of student engagement and parish leaders who attended the conference.

Herrera, responsible for family, youth and young adult ministry, as well as college campus ministry, delivered a talk on “Evangelizing Families: A Holistic Faith” as part of the Making Missionary Disciples Track.

“It definitely stirred up some conversation afterward, which was wonderful,” Herrera told the Catholic Review.

The event featured daily Masses, fellowship, adoration, community activities, separate sessions for men and women, and teachings aimed at preparing young adults for life beyond the event.

Attending for the second time, Jack Lawrence, a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi in Fulton and graduate student at Towson University, said he had never experienced a Catholic event for young adults on such a grand scale.

The allure of worshiping with a diverse group from across the country and the world was the primary reason for his attendance.

“This is preparing us for the rest of our lives to venture into the world,” Lawrence shared. “The most important thing we can do is to take everything we’ve learned and apply it to our college campuses, family life, relationships and beyond the experiences of this retreat.”

The 25th SEEK conference is set to take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2025. 

Email Adriana Montes at amontes@CatholicReview.org

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