Across three U.S. cities, tens of thousands of young Catholics entered the new year contemplating a single, timeless question: “What do you seek?”
Newsroom (07/01/2026 Gaudium Press ) From Jan. 1–5, more than 26,000 young adults convened in Columbus, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; and Fort Worth, Texas, for SEEK 2026, an annual gathering hosted by FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). The event — one of the largest Catholic conferences in the world — blended worship, keynote talks, prayer, and community with the singular goal of helping participants encounter Jesus Christ and discern His call in their lives.
This year’s theme, “To the Heights,” echoed the famous exhortation of recently canonized St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, a 20th-century mountaineer and patron of young adults known for striving toward both physical and spiritual summits.
“Be Open to What the Lord Has in Store for You”
A highlight of the 2026 conference came in the form of a special recorded message from Pope Leo XIV, shown simultaneously to attendees at all three locations. His words — pastoral, direct, and deeply personal — called each listener to examine their hearts in light of the Gospel.
“Be open to what the Lord has in store for you,” the Pope urged. Reflecting on the Gospel of John, he reminded participants that Jesus’ first recorded words — “What do you seek?” — remain the essential invitation of every Christian vocation. “The answer,” the Pope said, “is found in a person. The Lord Jesus alone brings us true peace and joy, and fulfills every one of our deepest desires.”
For Jetzemany Rincon, 22, one of 16,000 attendees in Columbus, those words were overwhelmingly moving. “When I saw the pope come on, I started crying,” she told The Catholic Times. “I realized that he has such a big Church … and he was able to center down.” For her, the experience reaffirmed her place within a global spiritual family.
Encounter, Worship, and Discernment
Each site’s schedule reflected the conference’s twin pillars: encounter and mission. Daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, and the sacrament of reconciliation punctuated hours of workshops, discussions, and fellowship. More than a religious event, SEEK 2026 was a pilgrimage of community — a place where prayer, conversation, and even silence could open new paths of faith.
The speaker lineup underscored this focus, featuring well-known Catholic voices such as Father Mike Schmitz, Matt Fradd, Chris Stefanick, Sister Mary Grace of the Sisters of Life, and Sister Josephine Garrett of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
In his Jan. 4 keynote address, Curtis Martin, FOCUS founder and outgoing CEO, compared God’s relationship with humanity to a dance — a partnership requiring openness, rhythm, and trust. “God wants to dance with you,” he told attendees, encouraging them to receive divine love and extend it outward: “When we let His love transform us, we can go love the world.”
Toward the Heights: A Call Echoing St. Frassati
Homilies and talks throughout the conference tied Frassati’s motto to the Incarnation. Bishop Earl K. Fernandes of Columbus, celebrating the opening Mass on Jan. 1, reflected that “the mighty God descended from the starry heaven and became a child so that we might go up to heaven, ‘toward the heights,’ as Pier Giorgio Frassati might say.”
At the Denver site, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila urged attendees to look to Mary, Mother of God, as the model of discernment. “If we ponder in our hearts the truth of who we have become in Baptism,” he said, “we will only grow in a deeper encounter and intimacy with Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.” He reminded young adults that their identity is “not founded in the world, but bestowed by a God who loves us and wants us to be with Him forever.”
Vocations and the Missionary Spirit
Vocational discernment — understanding one’s unique calling in life — was a central thread woven throughout SEEK 2026. Sister Catherine Rotterman of the Felician Sisters of North America, serving at the Fort Worth gathering, saw the conference as an invitation for young people to expand their vision of the Church. “SEEK helps them dream of where God might be leading them,” she shared with North Texas Catholic.
Father Jason Wallace, vocations director for the Archdiocese of Denver, echoed that sentiment. “God created some people to be married, He called some to be priests,” he told Denver Catholic. “It’s not so much what I want to do, it’s what God created me to do.” For Wallace, SEEK offers the rare atmosphere where thousands of students can step back and truly “set themselves aside and put God first.”
That same hope animated Deacon Rodney Asebedo of the Diocese of Fort Worth, who prayed during the conference that “someone’s heart is going to be touched; that they’re going to give themselves to God in a more intimate way; and that they will bear amazing fruit.”
Cooper Eitel, a seminarian from St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver, called the event “a very special opportunity” to foster conversations about vocations within the Catholic community. “There aren’t many other places with this kind of exposure,” he said.
A Beginning, Not an Ending
For teachers, students, and parish leaders alike, SEEK 2026 marked more than a conference; it was a spiritual launching point for the year ahead. Angelina Roa, a teacher at St. Rita Catholic School in Fort Worth and a four-time SEEK participant, summed up the sentiment shared by thousands: “Going to SEEK starts off the year with Jesus. It’s inspirational to be in the room with so many Catholics.”
The joy reflected in her words — and in the tears of so many others — pointed to what Pope Leo XIV called “the heights” of faith: where love descends from heaven so humanity might rise toward God.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCA News
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