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January 14, 2025By Bill Doyle | CFP Correspondent
Bishop McManus had heard good things about the annual SEEK conference for faithful college students, but he has not been able to attend in years past.
This year, he was able to make the trip to the SEEK25 conference for East Coast college students Jan. 2-5 at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
“It was like getting a shot in the arm,” he said.
Three SEEK conferences were held simultaneously by FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). Students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester State University and other local colleges were among the 3,500 who attended the sold-out D.C. conference.
Another conference in Cologne, Germany, the first held outside the U.S., drew nearly 500. The main conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, attracted 17,000.
“To see all these young people on fire with love for Christ and the church was really, really edifying,” Bishop McManus said.
Bishop McManus was one of 14 bishops who attended the D.C. conference. He enjoyed the well-planned liturgies, the speakers and the music.
“I knew it was going to be a great experience,” he said, “but just to be swept up in this whole enthusiasm for the Gospel and for wanting to make disciples of Christ, it was very humbling.”
Bishop McManus was impressed that the students immediately fell to their knees as two priests processed in with the Blessed Sacrament to begin adoration on the Saturday night of the conference.
Photo courtesy of Parker Staub
College students with FOCUS Team Worcester stand with Father Mark-Mary Ames of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal at SEEK25. Father Ames is the host of the popular podcast, "The Rosary in a Year."
During adoration, confessions were held. Even though 75 priests heard them, some students waited in line for half an hour or more.
Bishop McManus was inspired not only with the number of students who attended, but also with the amount of young priests, seminarians and young women religious in habits supporting them. The youthful enthusiasm gave him renewed hope for the future of the Catholic Church.
“Absolutely,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of terrible news for the last 20 years. One of my biggest concerns during the sex abuse crisis with the clergy, the biggest question I kept asking myself was, ‘How was this going to affect the relationship of young people to the church?’”
Bishop McManus pointed out that for their entire lives, these college students had heard this adverse publicity, much of which he said was deserved, but he was pleased to see that they were faithful nevertheless.
“The bishops were like rock stars,” Bishop McManus said. “When we processed in, they were clapping and I’m saying, ‘Who are they clapping for?’”
Bishop McManus said he has no doubt that the extraordinary movement at the conference was guided by the Holy Spirit, but he also credited FOCUS missionaries with revitalizing faith in the college students, some of whom hadn’t practiced their faith since they were baptized.
The annual SEEK conference inspires college students to pursue and deepen their relationship with God and gets its name from Bible verse John 1:38 in which Jesus asks his disciples, “What do you seek?”
So what did they seek and what did they find?
“I was definitely seeking the grace from God to draw a deeper trust in Him,” said WPI team director and FOCUS missionary Barbara Chrobak, “and to experience the love he has for me and I definitely found that.”
“I sought to grow deeper in the faith and in relationship with God,” said WPI senior Keegan Kuhn of York, Maine. “I found that there are many opportunities for this.”
“I think with the Lord sometimes we seek for graces that are less than what he wants to give us,” said FOCUS missionary Parker Staub, Team Worcester Director. “Of course, I was praying a lot for the students and hoping that they would have an encounter. I think what I found was the depth of the love and intimacy that the Lord has for me too.”
Ms. Chrobak, 24, is in her first year as team director at WPI and her third with FOCUS. She grew up in Brooklyn, graduated from Barnard College at Columbia University and served as a campus missionary at Boston University for two years.
About 60 students attended at least one of 10 Bible studies at WPI during the fall semester and 20 are involved in discipleship. Fifteen WPI students traveled to D.C.
“Overall, I think it was a hit,” Ms. Chrobak said.
The conference offered daily Mass, adoration, speakers and shorter impact sessions on such topics as family planning, mental health and coping with the brokenness and despair in the world.
There was even entertainment at night. Comedian Shayne Smith, who was baptized a Catholic last Easter, joked about growing up in a trailer park and getting involved with gang activity. Christian music artist Jervis Campbell sang and played the guitar in his band.
On the third day of the conference, Bishop McManus had lunch with Mr. Staub, WPI student Keegan Kuhn and Worcester State University student Ashlee Zaleski. Bishop McManus told them about how he became a priest and a bishop and the others told him about their faith journeys.
“That was really awesome,” Mr. Staub said. “He’s just amazing.”
“The Bishop is a great man,” said Mr. Kuhn, a WPI senior from York, Maine. “It’s always a pleasure to speak with him.”
“These kids are sharp, they’re articulate,” Bishop McManus said. “They’re making individually and as a group a wonderful contribution to the church.”
Father Donato Infante, director of the diocese’s Office for Vocations, also attended the conference. So did Father Alfredo Porras, WPI chaplain and the diocese’s director of the Office for Divine Worship; and Father Derek Mobilio, the associate pastor at Our Lady of Hope Parish in North Grafton who works with FOCUS missionaries at WSU and Quinsigamond Community College.
Ms. Chrobak said it was easy to get to know others at the conference. She struck up a brief conversation in an elevator with a freshman she had never met before and the student hugged her before they parted ways.
“That’s always been my experience at these conferences,” Ms. Chrobak said. “It’s a sense of we’re in this together regardless of where you are in the journey with your faith. We’re here for each other.”
For the first time, SEEK held conferences at more than one site. Mr. Kuhn was one of the 24,000 who attended the conference last year in St. Louis. This year, although the lines to the elevators were long, he enjoyed having everything take place in the same location.
“I got to witness zeal for the faith,” Mr. Kuhn said, “especially in young people and seeing the large venue completely sold out with inspiring talks about the faith.”
Of course, visiting historic Washington, D.C, is especially memorable. Mr. Staub said some of his students enjoyed walking to the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
Mr. Staub, 24, of Gettysburg, Pa., brought 28 students to SEEK. Most were from WSU, but there were some from Clark, Assumption, Holy Cross and QCC. Others live in the Worcester area, but attend college elsewhere, some take online classes and some are taking a gap year away from college.
Mr. Staub said 42 students have attended at least one of the Bible studies conducted by his team of four missionaries and he hopes to boost that total to 80. He pointed out that the conference was the first opportunity for all of them to gather together.
“For them to see that this mission is a lot bigger than just Worcester,” he said, “was really special for them and will really help going into the next semester to continue to grow in their faith and in evangelization too.”
There will be three SEEK conferences in 2026, in Columbus, Ohio; Fort Worth, Texas; and Denver, Colorado. One of Ms. Chrobak’s students told her on the first night in D.C. that she was already looking forward to attending next year.
“I think overall everyone had a very beautiful, impactful experience,” Ms. Chrobak said, “and were able to take personal lessons away and see how it applies to them in their life.”
All the talks in D.C. can be accessed on the SEEK replay app.
