The heads of Churches and their representatives in Syria meet the de facto leader. / Credit: Add Alsama/Facebook

ACI MENA, Jan 4, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

As Syria navigates a transitional phase, questions abound regarding the Church’s role in shaping the new Syrian nation. Has the picture become any clearer after the meeting between Ahmad al-Sharaa, head of the new Syrian transitional administration, and Church leaders at the People’s Palace in Damascus?

The recent gathering included significant participation from Franciscan friars, including Father Ibrahim Faltas, deputy custodian of the Holy Land, along with other Church representatives.

In a press conference, Father Rami Elias, SJ, revealed that the purpose of the meeting between al-Sharaa and Christian clergy was introductory, allowing Church leaders to voice their concerns and questions.

The clerics discussed issues related to the Syrian Constitution, democracy, and equality. Al-Sharaa responded by citing his long years living alongside Christians in Damascus and Daraa. He affirmed that Christians are an integral component of Syrian society.

When asked about al-Sharaa, Elias remarked: “It is ambiguous — we cannot discern his true intentions.”

He noted that al-Sharaa openly expressed his desire to implement a civil legislative system of governance.

“There are no guarantees, and we remain in limbo,” Elias added. “In my opinion, if the United States and European nations maintain their current stance on Syria, we could see the establishment of a civil state, possibly with an Islamic but moderate tone. However, we will be powerless if these nations shift their position.” 

Elias did not hide his unease about the uncertain reality, as the future path for Syrians remains unknown. Nonetheless, he urged Christians not to fear, stating: “Our situation will not be worse than it was before.”

Elias emphasized the importance of the Church taking advantage of the present moment to draft its proposal for the upcoming constitution. He foresees that the 1950 constitution might gather widespread approval, albeit with certain amendments.

The meeting did not include the three patriarchs of the Antiochian See residing in Damascus but rather their representatives.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

A statue of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in the Seton Legacy Garden at the Seton Shrine in Maryland. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Seton Shrine

CNA Staff, Jan 4, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, whose feast is celebrated on Jan. 4, led a bold and faith-filled life, which led to her becoming the first native-born American to be canonized in the Catholic Church on Sept. 14, 1975.

Now, 50 years later, the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, has begun its yearlong celebration honoring the anniversary of the saint’s canonization. The special events and programming kick off on Jan. 4 with a Mass at the shrine celebrated by Baltimore Archbishop William Lori, which will be aired nationally on EWTN at 6 p.m. ET.

On the same day, a new exhibit will open in the shrine’s museum called “One of Us,” which tells the backstory of Seton’s canonization — one of the most monumental days in the American Catholic Church during the 20th century.

The exhibit aims to take visitors back to 1975 to give them an understanding of the magnitude of Seton’s impact and her relevance today. In addition, there will be special artifacts on display including the canonization decree from Pope Paul VI and personal scrapbooks from those who attended the proceedings in Rome or watched them in Emmitsburg.

Rob Judge, executive director of the Seton Shrine, told CNA in an interview that the shrine wants to use the celebration and the anniversary “as an opportunity to remind people of the significance of that event for the Church in our country.”

“If you take yourself back to 1975, our country had been in existence for 200 years, almost, and we hadn’t had an American saint,” he said. “So, that was just a tremendous boost for the Church, for Americans to see one of their own be recognized for her life of holiness.”

He added that the exhibit aims to “take them [visitors] back to the emotion behind that moment.”

An original mural will also be unveiled by Frederick, Maryland, artist Ellen Byrne, which will depict Seton’s journey to sainthood. A separate wall will contain information about other Americans in various stages of the canonization process.

The shrine will also be organizing a series of events throughout the year leading up to the 50th anniversary of Seton’s canonization in order to bring people closer to better understand the saint’s life and legacy. 

These events include an outreach program to more than 200 parishes and schools in the U.S. under her patronage to reintroduce the faithful to Elizabeth Ann Seton through a variety of resources, a digital content campaign showing the personal impacts she and the shrine have had on the faithful, and the expansion of the shrine’s “Seeds of Hope” program, which offers retreats to those living in poverty. 

The shrine will also host a series of pilgrimage initiatives, including a partnership with the Camino of Maryland, a 14-day, 218-mile journey in June that will end at the shrine.

“As a shrine, we’re a pilgrimage destination and, of course, that is very analogous to life — we’re on a lifelong pilgrimage to be with God. So, we try to promote pilgrimage in everything we do as an opportunity to encounter Our Lord, to grow closer to him,” Judge explained.

The series of events will end on Sept. 14 with a “Day of Joy,” which will include the celebration of Mass followed by an afternoon of food, music, and prayer at the shrine. 

Judge said he hopes that those who participate in the various events celebrating Seton this year will come to realize “that holiness is something that we can all achieve through grace in very little, simple ways.”

He added that he hopes people will see St. Elizabeth Ann Seton “as an ordinary woman who believed that God could be sought and found in this life, that he would take care of her, that he loved her, that he had a plan for her, and [see] those little steps he used that, through his grace, transformed her.”

“To me as just a layperson, that gives me a lot of hope,” he said. “I don’t have to do great things, I can do simple, little things and respond to God’s grace knowing that he’ll use that.”

Religious sisters mingle at SEEK25 in Salt Lake City on Jan. 3, 2025. / Credit: Kate Quinones/CNA

Salt Lake City, Utah, Jan 3, 2025 / 19:35 pm (CNA).

Next year’s SEEK Conference is scheduled to be held in Denver; Columbus, Ohio; and Fort Worth, Texas, the annual Catholic event announced this week.

Denver is the headquarters of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), which runs the yearly event, while the Fort Worth location may draw students from Texas A&M, the University of Dallas, and beyond.

The Columbus location, meanwhile, is near Franciscan University of Steubenville. Columbus Bishop Earl Fernandes on Friday shared his excitement at the announcement of the new location. 

“We are pleased and excited to be able to host SEEK26! It will be a boost for our diocese and our city,” Fernandes said in a press release shared with CNA. 

“People will see that the Church is young and alive! It will be a tremendous opportunity for our young people to encounter Christ and other young people from around the country,” Fernandes continued. 

“It is another sign of the commitment of the Diocese of Columbus to college students, young adults, and their families. Together we will proclaim the joy of the Gospel!”

2025 conference breaks records

SEEK25, which has been held in both Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C., this year, brought a record-breaking 21,115 attendees hailing from all over the United States and Canada. Hundreds of priests attended, with a total of 617 at both locations. 

This year’s SEEK featured a “holy competition” between Texas A&M and the University of Nebraska regarding which university could send more students, with the University of Nebraska winning the competition with about 390 attendees. 

On Thursday Catholic priest and podcaster Father Mike Schmitz gave a keynote address in which the popular priest spoke on original sin, vice and virtue, and God’s love. 

“Every sin is an attempt to be happy apart from God,” he said, referencing Adam and Eve’s first sin in the Garden of Eden.

Schmitz also discussed virtue and vice, noting that we can’t escape the consequences of our choices. 

“We get what we’ve chosen,” he noted. “We become what we repeatedly choose.”  

Schmitz in his talk noted that “God is infinite attention” and that he “doesn’t take us in line.”

“Everything you do matters to him,” he said. “It’s the cost of being loved — that everything you do matters.” 

Friday morning began with a reverent Mass. Held in the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City, the space was given a reverent atmosphere through Catholic music as well as screens with images of the local Catholic Cathedral of the Madeleine.

Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, said he was “struck by the reverence” of the Masses at SEEK. 

“It seems that every year, the celebration of the liturgy becomes more beautiful and more transcendent,” Conley told CNA.

“It’s hard to have 20,000 college students in a big, huge hotel space to create a sacred environment,” he said. “With the backdrops of the beautiful cathedral here in Salt Lake City, the music, particularly, and all the priests and the religious sisters and the bishops — it just tells me that young people are really looking for the transcendent.”  

On Friday night, attendees will gather in Eucharistic adoration — the culmination of the week — at three different locations. 

“Our Lord is ever-present at SEEK this year and it’s incredible that we have three simultaneously,” Curtis Martin, founder of FOCUS, said in a press release. 

“The personal transformations happening are palpable,” Martin said. “SEEK was founded upon a desire to bring people of faith from all walks of life together, to reinvigorate their love for Christ and their zeal to spread the Gospel.”

“Especially during a time where so much of the world needs the merciful love that our Church has to offer, we have hope in the future of Catholicism and the role that SEEK will continue to play in the vibrant life of our Church,” he continued. 

Event features breakout sessions, Mass, fellowship

The atmosphere at SEEK is reverent and prayerful, but it is also lively and energetic. One young attendee wore a cheese hat on Friday. When asked why, he explained simply: “Because we’re from Wisconsin.” 

Friday’s breakout sessions featured a range of speakers and topics, including a talk by Crookston, Minnesota, Bishop Andrew Cozzens on “Why Discipleship Fails Without the Fire of the Holy Spirit,” while writer Noelle Mering spoke on combatting “woke” ideology. 

In addition to daily talks, Mass, and prayer, people gathered and chatted in the Mission Way — a large section of booths manned by representatives of Catholic apostolates, colleges, and religious orders. 

Some booths get creative with their outreach. One group advertising a new St. Maximilian Kolbe film, “Trump of the Heart,” hosted a daily planking competition, the “Kolbe Challenge.”

The Fraternity Poor of Jesus Christ, a group based in Brazil, displayed dolls dressed in handmade religious habits. Members of the order made several of the unique dolls to give to families with young children back in Brazil.

Monsignor James Shea, president of the University of Mary in North Dakota, and Sister Miriam James Heidland of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) were set to give the keynote session Friday night, which will be livestreamed by EWTN.

The Catholic Cathedral of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Minsk, Belarus. / Credit: nastya_krii/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 3, 2025 / 17:05 pm (CNA).

Father Henrykh Akalatovich was sentenced on Dec. 30 in Belarus to 11 years in prison for “high treason,” a charge that President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime applies to political prisoners, a representative of a human rights organization reported.

The Viasna Human Rights Center stated on X that the 64-year-old Catholic priest has denied “all charges.”

Viasna noted that the priest had already suffered a heart attack and had undergone surgery for cancer before his arrest in November 2023. “He needs special care and treatment, but instead he has been thrown into harsh conditions on political charges,” the organization noted.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Viasna representative Pavel Sapelka said Akalatovich is the first Catholic priest since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 to be sentenced in Belarus “on criminal charges that are leveled against political prisoners.”

“The harsh sentence is intended to intimidate and silence hundreds of other priests ahead of January’s presidential election,” Sapelka said.

In December 2024, The Tablet cited a statement from the Belarusian Catholic bishops calling on priests to limit their media appearances.

“Clerics and religious must remember they are called to preach Christ’s teaching, not their own opinions and views, especially those that could cause confusion, scandal, or division … This includes abstaining from political statements and expressions,” the Tablet reported, quoting a statement from the bishops’ conference.

The AP reported that Akalatovich’s conviction “comes as Belarusian authorities have intensified their sweeping crackdown on dissent ahead of the Jan. 26 presidential election that is all but certain to give President Alexander Lukashenko a seventh term.”

Belarus declared independence from the Soviet Union in December 1991 and held its first free elections in 1994, which Lukashenko won.

However, the ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has remained in power by imposing an authoritarian regime. According to Viasna, there are more than 1,200 political prisoners in Belarus.

Religious freedom in Belarus

According to the 2023 Report on Religious Freedom by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Lukashenko declares himself to be an “Orthodox atheist” and carries out authoritarian repression with “devastating consequences for civil society and human rights, including religious freedom.”

The ACN report notes that Catholics make up 10%-12% of the population and that groups “not within the Orthodox structures of the Belarusian Orthodox Church and Moscow Patriarchate” suffer restrictions such as, for example, “arbitrary work permission denials to clerics other than those Moscow Orthodox Patriarchate-related.”

The report recalls the pressure exerted against the then-archbishop of Minsk and Mogilev, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, for calling for an end to violence against protesters who claimed there was fraud in the 2020 elections that kept Lukashenko in power.

In addition, the report says, the regime monitors believers through the secret police and controls them through its Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs. “Surveillance is extended to publications by censorship and internet publications by the penalization of users for content posted,” ACN notes.

“Most human rights, including religious freedom, are endangered due to the authoritarian nature of the government in Belarus,” the ACN report summarizes.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Sister Veronica Higgins of the Carmelite Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Infant Jesus died in a car accident Jan. 2, 2025, after running off a rural highway northwest of the city, according to local news reports. / Credit: Archdiocese of Oklahoma City

CNA Staff, Jan 3, 2025 / 16:35 pm (CNA).

A religious sister who ministered in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City died in a car accident Thursday afternoon after running off a rural highway northwest of the city, according to local news reports.

Sister Veronica Higgins of the Carmelite Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Infant Jesus was killed after her vehicle left the road, struck a tree, and came to rest in a creek, authorities said.

The accident happened on Oklahoma Highway 3, about four miles south of Okarche, the hometown of Blessed Stanley Rother.

Higgins, 74, was “apparently ill,” and troopers wrote in the report that the cause of the collision was a medical incident, KOCO reported.

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City paid tribute to Higgins shortly after the accident, writing on social media: “I have just learned of the sudden and unexpected death of Sister Veronica Higgins, CST, earlier today, Jan. 2. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sister Veronica, the Carmelite Sisters of St. Thérèse, and all who grieve her passing.”

“Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord,” the bishop continued, adding that “funeral arrangements are pending and will be provided in the near future.”

Higgins was the case manager at the Center of Family Love, a ministry to the intellectually disabled, in Okarche, according to the Okarche Warrior. She was also a past administrator and principal at the former Villa Teresa School in Oklahoma City.

According to The Oklahoman, she was a convert to the Catholic faith and celebrated the 40th anniversary of her vows as a religious sister in 2016.

On the website for her order, Higgins wrote that her favorite Bible verse is Micah 6:8, which reads: “The Lord asks of us only this: to act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with your God.”

An archdiocesan spokesman told CNA that the sisters are “still struggling with the loss” and that more information will be available next week.

The Carmelite Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Infant Jesus say on their website that the members of the order work to serve “the special needs of those who experience poverty, spiritual deprivation, moral disorders, and indifference.”

null / Credit: Orhan Cam/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 3, 2025 / 16:05 pm (CNA).

The Catholic representation in the 119th Congress grew slightly from the previous Congress to just over 28% of the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, according to a report from the Pew Research Center.

A small majority of the Catholics in both chambers of Congress are elected Democrats. 

The number of Protestant Christians slightly decreased and make up just under 56% of the incoming Congress. About 1.1% of members of Congress are Orthodox Christians. In total, Christians account for about 85% of Congress.

The second-largest religious faith represented in Congress is the Jewish faith, which accounts for about 6% of the members of Congress. The third-largest faith represented is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism), which accounts for 1.7% of Congress.

Members of all other religious faiths — including Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, humanists, and Universalist Unitarians — each account for less than 1% of Congress. Three members, who account for 0.6% of Congress, are not members of any religion and the religion of nearly 4% is unknown.

Slight growth for Catholics

The total number of Catholics in Congress increased by two members, from 148 in the 118th Congress to 150 in the 119th Congress. The percentage increased slightly from 27.7% to 28.2%. Catholics remain the largest Christian denomination represented in Congress. 

According to Pew’s numbers, 126 members of the House and 24 Senators are Catholic. The majority of Catholics in both chambers are Democrats: 70 in the House and 13 in the Senate. There are 56 Catholic Republicans in the House and 11 in the Senate.

There are 459 incumbent members of Congress who are returning with 129 of them belonging to the Catholic Church, which accounts for 28.1% of incumbents. There are 73 new members of Congress, 21 of whom are Catholic, which accounts for 28.8% of the freshmen.

According to Pew, about 20% of adults in the United States consider themselves Catholic, which means Catholics are overrepresented in Congress by more than eight percentage points.

Other Christian denominations

The number of Protestants in Congress decreased by eight members, from 303 members to 295 members. This brings their total representation down from 56.7% to 55.5%. However, this still makes Protestants overrepresented in Congress, according to Pew, which found that 40% of the American public identifies as a Protestant.

Baptists are the largest representation for Protestants in Congress, accounting for 75 members, which is 14.1% of the House and Senate. There are 26 Methodists and 26 Presbyterians, both of whom make up 4.9% of Congress. There are 22 members who are Anglican or Episcopalian and account for 4.1% of Congress. 

There are 101 Protestants who are listed as “unspecified” or belonging to a denomination not listed in the survey, which accounts for 19% of Congress. 

A majority of Protestants in both chambers are Republican: 146 in the House and 38 in the Senate. There are 91 Protestant Democrats in the House and 20 in the Senate. 

The number of Orthodox Christians decreased from eight to six members, all of whom are in the House. Four are Republican and two are Democrat. 

Non-Christian representation in Congress

The number of Jewish members of Congress decreased from 33 to 32, which accounts for 6% of the House and the Senate. According to Pew, about 2% of the American population adheres to the Jewish faith. The large majority of Jewish members of Congress are Democrats: 20 in the House and nine in the Senate. There are three Jewish Republicans in the House and none in the Senate.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints remained the same as the previous Congress with nine members. All Mormon members of Congress are Republican, six of whom are in the House and three of whom are in the Senate.

The number of Muslims in Congress increased from three to four, the number of Hindus increased from two to four, and the number of Buddhists increased from two to three. The number of Unitarian Universalists remained at three and the number of humanists remained at one.

Every Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Unitarian Universalist, and humanist member of Congress is a Democrat. Most are members of the House, except for one Buddhist who is in the Senate.

There are only three members of Congress who are unaffiliated with any religion, all of whom are in the House. Two are Democrat and one is Republican. This is the most underrepresented group in Congress, according to Pew, which found that 28% of Americans are not affiliated with a particular religion.

However, 21 members of Congress either refused to answer or their religion could not be determined by the researchers: 17 in the House and four in the Senate. All are Democrats, except for one who is a House Republican.

Pope Francis meets with members of the Italian Union of Blind and Partially Sighted People on Jan. 3, 2025, in Clementine Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 3, 2025 / 15:20 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Friday welcomed a group of children and young people from the Italian Union of Blind and Partially Sighted People in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall, encouraging them to be pilgrims of hope during the 2025 Jubilee Year.

At the beginning of his Jan. 3 audience, the Holy Father encouraged those present to repeat the “Pilgrims of Hope” theme of the 2025 Jubilee, getting louder and louder each time until he was satisfied with their enthusiastic response and congratulated them with a “bravo!”

Pope Francis then encouraged them to be “people on the journey” who always have the desire to continue, “never stopping, never arriving, always with the desire to move forward.”

In his talk, the pontiff recalled that a pilgrim is more than a traveler, because he has a particular goal: “A holy place, which draws him, which motivates him, which sustains him in his fatigue.”

In the case of the ordinary Jubilee of 2025, he said, the goal is a Holy Door “that allows us to enter into new life, free from the slavery of sin, free to love and serve God and neighbor.”

The pilgrim is also distinguished from the traveller, the pope said, because he is eager “to encounter Jesus, to know him, to listen to his word, which gives meaning to life, which fills it with a distinct joy, a joy that does not remain ‘outside,’ on the surface, but fills the heart and warms it, a joy that is peace, goodness, tenderness.”

Pope Francis then proposed examples of saints who show that “only Jesus can give this joy,” citing Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who is scheduled to be canonized this year; St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi; and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

The pontiff concluded by saying that pilgrims of hope are “children and young people who have encountered the Lord Jesus and have journeyed with him, and he is the hope for every man, for every woman, and also for the world.”

By following this path, Pope Francis added, “we too will become small signs of hope for those we meet.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Ascension's new podcast 'The Rosary in a Year' with Father Mark-Mary Ames, CFR. / Credit: Ascension

CNA Staff, Jan 3, 2025 / 14:50 pm (CNA).

Ascension’s latest podcast, “The Rosary in a Year,” topped the Apple Podcast charts after its release on Jan. 1. The latest “In a Year” podcast landed ahead of other popular podcasts including “The Joe Rogan Experience,” “Dateline,” and “The Daily.” 

This is Ascension’s third podcast to reach the No. 1 spot on the Apple charts. The Catholic publisher and digital content producer first topped the charts in 2021 with its breakout podcast “The Bible in a Year” with Father Mike Schmitz. This was followed by “The Catechism in a Year,” also hosted by Schmitz, in 2023. 

Hosted by Father Mark-Mary Ames of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, “The Rosary in a Year” podcast consists of daily 15-minute episodes that guide listeners through a deeper encounter with all the elements of the rosary. 

In an interview with CNA, Ames said he hopes these phases will help to build “the muscle of prayer.”

“I think there’s a reason the rosary is so popular across demographics, across centuries, [and it’s] because it is really in many ways a great unmatched means of prayer,” he said.

The podcast aims to serve as a form of accompaniment and guidance by taking listeners through six phases of deepening their understanding of the rosary. These include looking at what it means to pray in general and focusing on the actual prayers of the rosary and what they mean. The longest phase will be diving deeper into the mysteries of the rosary, practicing “lectio divina” and “visio divina,” reflections from the saints, and finally praying the rosary.

Ames said he hopes those who listen to the podcast will “grow in their life of prayer and that particularly they fall in love, maybe for the first time, maybe again, with prayer and with the Lord and with Our Lady and with the rosary because they experience the rosary as this privileged doorway in which they get to encounter the Lord.”

Thousands gather for the opening Mass of the SEEK25 conference held in Washington, D.C., Jan. 2–5, 2025. / Credit: Migi Fabara/EWTN

Washington D.C., Jan 3, 2025 / 14:20 pm (CNA).

The Fellowship of Catholic University Students’ (FOCUS) SEEK conference is now officially underway in Salt Lake City and at its first-ever regional conference, held in Washington, D.C., where thousands have gathered for four days of fellowship and diving deeper into the Catholic faith.

“We are here, because guess what? Everything isn’t OK in the world today,” Bishop Robert Brennan told those at the opening Mass in Washington.

“My goodness, 2025 started off with unspeakable acts of violence,” the bishop from the Diocese of Brooklyn added, referencing the New Orleans attack on New Year’s Day. 

Touching on this year’s theme, “Follow Me,” Brennan emphasized that in the midst of the world’s brokenness, “there is something more we need.”

“We are all here because we need Jesus Christ,” he said. “We all come seeking Christ, and we find that he’s already been reaching out to us.”

Brennan addressed the attendees, telling them to “relax” and to take the pressure off their shoulders. “I don’t promise lightning bolts or magic or anything like that,” the bishop said in his strong New York accent. “But this moment can be transformative. Let Jesus find his own way into your heart, into your life.”

SEEK26 locations announced

As the conference kicked off in Washington, D.C., Thursday evening, FOCUS announced that SEEK would continue to expand next year, taking place in three locations across the U.S.: Columbus, Ohio; Denver; and Fort Worth, Texas.

“We are pleased and excited to be able to host SEEK26!” Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus said in a press release following the announcement. “It will be a boost for our diocese and our city.”

The bishop said that “people will see that the Church is young and alive,” describing the conference as a “tremendous opportunity for our young people to encounter Christ” and one another.

“Together we will proclaim the joy of the Gospel!” he added.

The announcement comes as SEEK continues to grow year by year with a record total of 17,274 paid participants at the flagship location in Salt Lake City and a crowd of 3,355 attendees in the nation’s capital. At the same time, 486 attendees were registered at a SEEK conference that was also taking place in Cologne, Germany. 

‘Our hearts are restless’

The Jan. 2–5 satellite event in Washington, D.C., is completely sold out. The regional event will mostly mirror its counterpart in Salt Lake City but will not include the “Making Missionary Disciples” programming track geared toward Catholic adults in any stage of their faith journey. 

A total of 46 bishops are in attendance at the U.S.-based conferences in addition to hundreds of priests, with 489 in Salt Lake City and 128 in Washington, D.C. 

Over four days, speakers will address the notion that something is “missing” when Christ is not present in our lives.

Dr. Matthew Breuninger, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville, reminded D.C. conference-goers that St. Augustine repeatedly sought worldly fulfillment but was never satisfied until he encountered Christ, quoting from Augustine’s “Confessions”: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

“It’s not until Augustine meets Christ, and so he recognizes the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity deep in his heart, that he writes some of the most beautiful words ever been in the western hand,” Breuninger continued, quoting Augustine again: “He says, ‘Late have I loved you; late have I loved you, the beauty ever ancient, ever new.’”

Breuninger recounted his own journey from drug and alcohol addiction to Christ, saying: “I felt in the very heart of my being that while I had looked out for him in the world, he was inside of me.” 

As a student at Georgetown University, Breuninger said, he was in his “darkest, lowest moment.” He told the crowd: “A beautiful gift that God has given me is that 20-some years later, he’s called me back to the city where my life fell apart.”

“I learned a simple but profound reality,” he said. “He has created us for himself, and our hearts are utterly restless until they rest in him.” 

Father Chase Hilgenbrinck, a former professional soccer player turned Catholic priest, challenged SEEK25 conference attendees to ask themselves: “What are the questions of your heart?” and “What are the questions that will give greater meaning to your life?”

Hilgenbrinck shared that although he was grateful for his experience as a soccer player, “the lifestyle of being a professional athlete is shallow and even laughable in comparison to being a priest of Jesus Christ.” 

“I found that my desires were so much deeper, they would never be fulfilled with that keychain that we often hold around our belts, those keys that don’t open the doors to greater meaning,” he continued. “If on your keychain, you have the keys to success, money, sex, and alcohol, they will not open the doors to greater meaning in your life.”

Part of the roof of San Luis Obispo Church in the town of Calkiní located north of the Campeche, the capital of the Mexican state of the same name, collapsed on Dec. 29, 2024. No injuries were reported. / Credit: Civil Protection Secretariat of Campeche

ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 3, 2025 / 10:55 am (CNA).

Part of the roof of San Luis Obispo (St. Louis Bishop) Church in the town of Calkiní located north of the Campeche, the capital of the Mexican state of the same name, collapsed a few hours before Mass was to be offered for the feast of the Holy Family. No injuries were reported.

Father Luis Ángel Mendoza Pérez, spokesman for the Diocese of Campeche, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that around 3 p.m. local time on Sunday, Dec. 29, the vault of the church collapsed “from the entrance of the main door extending approximately 14 meters [45 feet] in length.”

The cave-in occurred almost two hours before the Eucharistic celebration, which was scheduled for 5 p.m.

Mendoza noted that the area where the roof fell, as well as a quarter of the church, “had been cordoned off to the faithful with barricade tape for more than a month” as a measure to protect the faithful from the deterioration of the structure.

The priest also pointed out that the church’s pastor, Father Fernando Manzo, had requested the “intervention of the competent authorities,” including the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH by its Spanish acronym).

Like all Catholic churches built in Mexico before 1992 — the year in which relations between the state and the Catholic Church were reestablished in the Mexican Constitution — the church is federal property, so repairing it is the responsibility of the civil authorities. Only churches built after 1992 can legally belong to the Catholic Church.

According to posts on the parish’s social media, on Aug. 1, 2023, a part of the church’s ceiling came loose. Faced with this situation, the intervention of INAH Campeche was urgently requested to begin the repairs. However, according to one post, “we have had no response; we can’t wait for it to deteriorate further.”

What caused the collapse?

The construction of the San Luis Obispo church, located in the central square of Calkiní, began in 1548 and was officially opened on Aug. 29, 1561, with the celebration of the first Mass. Completed in 1776, this baroque church is especially known for its wooden altarpiece that is more than four centuries old, its carved pulpit, and its baptistery, constituting an important cultural heritage of the region.

According to the spokesman for the Diocese of Campeche, the INAH detected “a structural fault dating back to when the church was finished in 1776, since the central part of the vault was thicker than the sides, resulting in a crack.”

The spokesman explained that this detail explains the constant leaking of water into the church, despite the efforts of the parish priests, who, although “they attended to the situation, a definitive solution to the problem was not found.”

Only two days before the collapse, a budget had been approved for the repair of the roof, financed by the national insurance of the Federal Ministry of Culture. “Unfortunately, the inclement weather accelerated the deterioration of the roof until it collapsed,” the spokesman lamented.

On Dec. 30, Anuar Dager Granja, head of the Civil Protection Secretariat of Campeche, appeared at the site of the collapse and, according to his report, permission was granted to use the side chapels of the church and the cloister, which don’t pose a risk for religious services.

Catholics ‘feel homeless without the church’

Mendoza said the Catholics of Calkiní are deeply dismayed by what happened, “since it’s a community with great religious fervor, and the church was in great demand for worship services.”

He emphasized that this church, located in an Indigenous Mayan community, has a “very significant value for them, because it represents their identity as a Christian community. Without the church, they feel homeless, since they consider the parish as a place of faith and encounter with God.”

This is not the first church in Mexico whose roof collapsed. In July 2024, St. Gregory the Great Church’s roof came crashing down in the town of Cerralvo in Nuevo Leon state, injuring no one. On June 30, 2024, the roof of St. Joseph the Worker Church in the town of Tala in Jalisco state fell in just as a priest was about to enter it. The church was cordoned off as it had been previously damaged by an earthquake. On Oct. 1, 2023, the roof of Holy Cross Church in Ciudad Madero in Tamaulipas state caved in, killing 11 and injuring 60. In December 2023, the roof of St. Joseph Church in San Luis Potosí came tumbling down. The church had been closed for three weeks due to structural faults.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.