{"id":14394,"date":"2026-01-12T16:22:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=14394"},"modified":"2026-01-12T16:22:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:22:46","slug":"catholic-conference-hits-record-attendance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2026\/01\/catholic-conference-hits-record-attendance.html","title":{"rendered":"Catholic Conference Hits Record Attendance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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seek.focus.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SEEK 2026, a Catholic conference aimed at young people, is celebrating a record turnout. The event occurred at three simultaneous locations: Columbus, Ohio; Fort Worth, Texas; and Denver, Colorado. 26,000 people attended the event, which occurred from January 1-5, with the biggest number of attendees (16,100) registering in Columbus. Overall, the event saw a 24% increase from when it took place last year at Salt Lake City and Washington, DC. The event is organized by FOCUS, a Catholic ministry on college campuses. 11,744 students registered for the event from FOCUS-affiliated campuses, a 9% increase from last year, while 2,752 students attended from non-FOCUS campuses, a 64% jump from SEEK 2025.<\/p>\n

The event also experienced a record number of bishops in attendance, with 58 US bishops attending the event. The highlight of the event was a video message from Pope Leo XIV, where he urged attendees, who were mostly college students and young adults, to spend time with Jesus. \u201cMany SEEK organizers and members of FOCUS later told me that the Pope summarized the meaning of SEEK better than they themselves could have,\u201d Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus told Vatican News<\/em><\/a>. \u201cHe planted a seed in the hearts of many young people, helping them reflect on their own vocation and respond to the question, \u2018What are you seeking?\u2019\u2014the question Jesus asks Andrew and the beloved disciple.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary Brecount, a student at Hillsdale College in Michigan and a volunteer with Camp Wojtyla in Jamestown, Colorado, spoke about the hunger for faith amongst young people. \u201cYoung people around the world today carry a deep hunger within them,\u201d she said. \u201cThey long to know the purpose of their existence and the heart of their God. Gathering 17,000 students who are searching together for something that can truly satisfy is a breathtaking experience. SEEK reminded us that we are not alone in our pursuit of Christ, but that we are part of a living, faithful, and committed community of believers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catholicism has been seeing a surge amongst young people<\/a>. The National Catholic Register reported a 72% increase amongst new converts from 2023 to 2024. Fernandes stated it\u2019s a trend he\u2019s seeing in his own church. \u201cSometimes the narrative is that the Church is old and that pews are empty,” he said. “In our diocese, the Catholic population has doubled in the past three and a half years, and it\u2019s getting younger. We have many young adults who are on fire with the faith, and there\u2019s a lot happening.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SEEK 2026, a Catholic conference aimed at young people, is celebrating a record turnout. The event occurred at three simultaneous locations: Columbus, Ohio; Fort Worth, Texas; and Denver, Colorado. 26,000 people attended the event, which occurred from January 1-5, with the biggest number of attendees (16,100) registering in Columbus. Overall, the event saw a 24%…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":14397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCatholic Conference Hits Record Attendance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SEEK 2026 draws a record 26,000 young Catholics as faith among college students surges and Pope Leo XIV urges attendees to seek Jesus.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2026\/01\/catholic-conference-hits-record-attendance.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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