Hundreds of teenagers stood shoulder to shoulder, their hands raised as the music of Damascus Worship filled the Edward J. Pryzbyla Center at The Catholic University of America. Blue and purple lights washed over the crowd as students sang along, clapped and joined in prayer.
Outside, teenagers took turns on inflatable bounce houses, played outdoor games, lined up at food trucks and spent time with friends on the university grounds.
It was all part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s first EXULT youth conference, which drew more than 600 high school students from across the District of Columbia and Maryland on Saturday Oct. 24.
For Summer Landa-Belo, a senior at DuVal High School in Lanham, Maryland, and a parishioner of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Washington, D.C., being surrounded by so many young Catholics was an experience she had been missing.
At school, some of her friends ask questions when she wears a rosary, prays before eating or makes the Sign of the Cross. She explained that several of her closest friends belong to other Christian denominations and are unfamiliar with some Catholic practices.
At EXULT, she found hundreds of other teenagers who shared those traditions.
“I just feel so seen,” Landa-Belo said
Organized by the archdiocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, the sold-out conference brought together students for 12 hours of worship, fellowship, presentations, recreation, Mass, Confession and Eucharistic Adoration. The theme, “Let My Prayer Rise Like Incense,” encouraged teenagers to make prayer a central part of their lives.
The day began with live worship music and a welcome from Jacob and Mary Joseph “MJ” Richard, a married couple and parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bethesda, Maryland.
The couple shared stories about meeting in college, their marriage and raising their young daughter. They reflected on the influence their teenage faith experiences continue to have on their lives as parents.
With hundreds of students gathered before them, the Richards encouraged the teenagers to set aside the worries and distractions they had brought with them. They suggested putting phones away, taking advantage of Confession and remaining open to whatever the day might bring.
Then they invited students onto the stage for a game show Jacob Richard had developed using artificial intelligence, bringing some friendly competition between the different high school grade levels.
Morning keynote speaker Conall Hughes, a Catholic evangelist, kept the students laughing as he recounted stories of the trouble he got into growing up.
Hughes said his mother had a familiar response whenever his mischief got out of hand: “That’s enough.”
He used those words to challenge teenagers to examine the place Jesus holds in their lives, asking whether they had settled for knowing just enough about Jesus to consider themselves good Catholics. He encouraged them to give Christ their whole lives and discover who God created them to be.
For Nathan Peruso, a sophomore at Calvert High School in Prince Frederick, Maryland, and a parishioner of St. John Vianney Parish in Prince Frederick, the presentation gave him something to consider.
“I think he made a really good point on saying that Jesus is, like, all and everything,” Peruso said, adding that the message connected with his everyday life.
Peruso was also impressed by the number of other young Catholics who had gathered at the conference.
“It definitely changes your perspective on things,” he said.
Hughes understands how much such an experience can mean to a teenager. In an interview following his presentation, he recalled attending a Catholic youth conference in 2011 after his parents insisted he go.
During Eucharistic Adoration, he experienced what he described as a powerful encounter with Jesus that changed his understanding of his faith. Although he continued to struggle with his faith during high school, the experience stayed with him and eventually influenced his decision to pursue ministry.
“I never forgot it,” he said.
That potential for a lasting encounter with Christ helped inspire EXULT.
The idea originated with Father Danny Morrison, parochial vicar at Little Flower Parish in Bethesda, Maryland. The conference was modeled after Mount 2000, an annual Catholic youth retreat organized by seminarians at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Father Morrison, who had helped organize Mount 2000 retreats during his time as a seminarian, proposed bringing a similar experience to young people in the Archdiocese of Washington.
He said young people face enormous demands on their time and attention, from schoolwork and extracurricular activities to the stress and anxiety of everyday life. He hopes the conference will encourage teenagers to recognize their dignity and identity as children of God.
“I see myself as a bridge just to get the young people at the feet of Jesus,” he said, explaining that his role as a priest includes helping young people develop a relationship with Christ through prayer and the sacraments.
The teenagers gathered for Mass celebrated by Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, the archbishop of Washington. The concelebrants at the Mass included Washington Auxiliary Bishops Juan R. Esposito and Gary R. Studniewski, along with priests and deacons from throughout the archdiocese
In his homily, Father James Morrison, pastor of Our Lady Queen of the Americas Parish in Washington, D.C., drew laughter from students with references to viral internet challenges, including the Tide Pod Challenge, in which people filmed themselves consuming laundry detergent.
He used the example to discuss the ways people sometimes engage in harmful behavior in pursuit of attention, popularity or acceptance.
Father James Morrison also recounted the life of Sister Clare Crockett, a young woman from Northern Ireland who had pursued a career in entertainment before experiencing a religious conversion and eventually entering religious life.
The priest encouraged teenagers to recognize the effects of sin in their lives and to trust in God’s mercy, reminding them that they can approach Christ regardless of their past mistakes.
At the conclusion of Mass, Mariana Pimiento, director of the archdiocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, thanked Cardinal McElroy for celebrating the liturgy and for his support of young people.
Cardinal McElroy recalled when Father Danny Morrison and others first approached him about holding a conference for high school students. He said the proposal sounded promising when they presented it, and he was delighted by what they had accomplished.
“The reality is much better,” he told the gathering.
Following Mass, students headed outside for lunch and recreation. Some had traveled with their parish youth groups, while others attended with classmates. For teenagers who rarely encounter large numbers of Catholics their own age, the gathering offered opportunities to build friendships with young people from other communities.
Therese Vieyra, a sophomore at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, D.C., and a parishioner of St. Peter’s Parish on Capitol Hill in Washington, said she appreciated the chance to worship alongside other young Catholics.
“Even as I go to church, sometimes I don’t see people my age,” she said.
Vieyra, who previously attended a Steubenville youth conference, said the experience of singing and praying with other young Catholics was one of her favorite parts of both events.
Sophia Gonzalez, a sophomore at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park, Maryland, and a parishioner of St. Catherine Labouré Parish in Wheaton, Maryland, also spoke about the relationships formed at youth retreats and conferences.
She said she enjoys seeing young people come together in prayer and share their experiences of faith.
“I want to come back every single time,” Gonzalez said of the opportunity to gather with other young Catholics.
The afternoon offered breakout sessions on prayer and faith in the digital world, along with separate sessions for young men and women.
Julie Cilano, associate director of campus ministry at The Catholic University of America, led a session on prayer, while Father Christopher Seith, coordinator of spiritual formation at Saint John Paul II Seminary in Washington, discussed faith and media.
The afternoon also featured presentations by youth ministry speaker Santonio Hill and Sister Maeve Navitis of the Sisters of Life, along with opportunities for students to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
A vocations panel gave the teenagers a chance to hear how people discern God’s call to marriage, priesthood and religious life.
The discussion featured Father Conrad Murphy, director of priest vocations for the Archdiocese of Washington; Sister Marie de Paul of the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Alma, Michigan; and Josh and Katie Fatzinger, a married couple with five children who serve in campus ministry at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, for the Archdiocese for Military Services, USA.
Father Murphy recalled once wanting to become both a priest and an astronaut.
“I wanted to be the first priest on the moon,” he joked, adding that he was already halfway toward accomplishing that childhood dream.
The conversation moved from amusing memories to the uncertainties the panelists had faced while discerning their vocations.
Father Murphy described his initial resistance to the priesthood while studying at George Washington University. Sister Marie de Paul explained how her interest in religious life developed through prayer, friendships and visits to religious communities.
The Fatzingers shared their journey toward marriage, including Josh Fatzinger’s time discerning a vocation to religious life, and discussed raising their five children.
The panelists also answered questions about fears they encountered during discernment, the unexpected joys of their vocations and the advice they wished they had received as teenagers.
For Yanelli Garcia, a sophomore at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park, Maryland, and a parishioner of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Hyattsville, Maryland, those questions are already part of her life.
Garcia said she is discerning whether God might be calling her to marriage or religious life. Hearing the experiences of priests, religious sisters and married couples offered her different perspectives on responding to God’s call.
Throughout the day, seminarians were also available to speak with students.
Among them was Gregory Anderson, 21, a first-year seminarian at Saint John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C., whose home parish is St. John Francis Regis in Hollywood, Maryland.
Anderson said he first felt a possible calling to the priesthood at around age 12, although he began seriously discerning that vocation when he was 18.
He recalled struggling with feelings of unworthiness during his teenage years. Through Eucharistic Adoration and Confession, he began to recognize God’s love and mercy in his own life.
Father John Benson, pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Prince Frederick, Maryland, said opportunities such as EXULT can help young people build relationships with Christ and with others who will support them as their faith develops.
“I think what the youth need most is opportunities to meet Jesus Christ in all sorts of different ways,” Father Benson said.
He emphasized the importance of having priests, married couples, single adults and other teenagers who will accompany young people throughout their faith journeys.
Daniel Vargas, a senior at Bowie High School in Bowie, Maryland, and a youth group leader at St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Our Lady of Fatima in Riverdale Park, Maryland, said seeing hundreds of young Catholics together was encouraging.
Vargas, who has attended both Mount 2000 and Steubenville conferences, said he appreciates the sense of shared purpose among the participants.
“It’s honestly amazing seeing everyone with the same mission of growing in our faith,” he said.
The conference continued into the evening with a presentation by Mary Szoch, director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council and former director of the D.C. Catholic Conference.
In the same hall where they had celebrated Mass, received Holy Communion, raised their voices in worship, laughed at speakers’ stories and listened to conversations about marriage, priesthood and religious life, the teenagers gathered once more for Eucharistic adoration.
As Damascus Worship led the music, Father Dylan Prentice, a parochial vicar at Little Flower Parish in Bethesda, carried the Blessed Sacrament in procession through the conference hall. The evening concluded with Benediction.
For Yanelli Garcia, who continues to discern her own vocation, spending time in Adoration is something she hopes more young people will experience.
“Really go to Adoration and take the time to listen to God,” she said, “because in the most silent times, in the most unexpected times, you hear a calling from him.”
