On the weekend before Canada Day, June 28 - 30, 2024, hundreds of youth traveled to the United States of America to attend a Steubenville Youth Conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio.

Organized by the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Office of Catholic Youth, more than 500 young people from 26 different parishes boarded ten coach buses to make the journey to the Catholic University campus. Joining in on the experience were youth from St. Michael’s parish in Belleville, Ont. as well as a contingent from three different parishes located in the Diocese of Peterborough.

The theme for the weekend was "Illuminate" based on John 1: 5, "the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it."

The conference included popular Catholic speakers including Michael Gormley, Sr. Josephine Garrett CSFN, and Fr Rick Martignetti OFM. Leading music for the weekend was John Paul Von Arx.

Attending the conference this summer in Ohio was part of the Office of Catholic Youth's strategy to rebuild momentum with hopes to be able to return as a host for Steubenville Toronto, which was held in the Archdiocese of Toronto from 2014 until 2019 before being forced to cancel the 2020 conference due to the restrictions on travel and large-scale gatherings during the Covid-19 health crisis.

Steubenville Conferences, an outreach of Franciscan University of Steubenville, have served hundreds of thousands of Catholics across North America since 1975. In the spirit of St. Francis, their mission is "Go, Rebuild My Church." Each summer, tens of thousands accept this invitation to grow in their Catholic faith through inspiring talks, dynamic worship and profound encounters with Christ in the Eucharist and Reconciliation.

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