Youth Day

Hannah Langley '25

Opinion and News Editor

Youth Day 2024 was a huge event, The Anaheim Convention center held over 7,000 attendees, teens and clergy members alike. The jam-packed day was an amazing faith experience, and eye opening workshops made the day exciting for everyone.

The theme of youth day 2024 was “Your Path Awaits,” which was decided by a group of teens who met together throughout the year. They plan the theme by looking at the readings of the day. 

There were a wide variety of workshops throughout the day for teens, that make faith more relatable to them, an event “planned for the youth, by youth” said Emily Kruska ’24, a planner for this year's youth day. 

The day is curated by teens, making it a relatable and comfortable place for teens to talk about faith. 

“While planning youth day, we met with a group of students to speak about what the next youth day would look like. We discussed everything from the genre of music sung to what the environment looks like within the arena,” said Kruska ’24. 

There were different workshops throughout the day, each with new meanings that would resonate with the youth. Speakers talked about how to work through mental health issues or sharing your faith through music or gaming. 

Youth day tries to give examples of “different ways to show your faith from how we think we should,'' stated Mrs. Hicks, Louisville’s Campus Minister. “It's not your usual church or youth group experience,” which is a great way to get teens to become more open about their faith, as well as sharing it with others. 

There was a mass with everyone in attendance, including the archbishop, as well as about one hundred priests. The mass is a truly powerful part of youth day because of the environment it creates. Mrs. Hicks commented that it was one of her favorite parts of youth day. 

The large community that comes together for youth day is a wonderful way to share your faith or discover new things about it. “You don’t have to be religious to go or be involved,” Brooke Freyer ’24, the head of social media and a Youth Day planner, commented. 

Going to youth day can be about anything you want it to be. 

“If you go with an open mind it's a really good thing to experience” commented Lizzie Heidman ’27 when asked about an encouraging factor for other teens. 

Youth day is not just a day of fun activities, it is a learning experience. The whole day is more than just service hours earned, whether you are discovering your faith for the first time or experiencing it on new levels, it is for everyone.