If you’re a Catholic teen or young adult, you have most likely heard of the famous retreat called “Steubenville.” Originally located at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, in Steubenville, Ohio, five conferences are held every summer, all around the country, from the West to the East. It is hosted by Life Teen, a beautiful organization for young Catholics who want to continue their faith. When I signed up for this for the Summer of 2014, I did not know what to expect. I had no idea this conference would change my life forever.

This weekend affects everyone who attends. The volunteers, the teenagers attending, the priests, and chaperones. Everyone who goes gets to hear powerful talks by wonderful speakers, attend workshops, adoration, and mass, and get to encounter God in a way you can’t even imagine. Some of the greatest Catholic speakers attend this event to give powerful talks through their faith journey and own personal experiences. Everything they say has some meaning to the theme each year. The best part is that they care about you. They know how heavy your cross is, and want you to know that you don’t have to face it alone.

This conference gave me the opportunity to find myself and how close I wanted to be to Jesus. I finally realized that I was a child of God and that I was more than proud to be one. I also had the opportunity to praise and worship God with 3,000 other teens. Imagine that, 3,000 teens all praying, all singing for the love of God. Believe me, it’s a pretty powerful sight! Another incredible vision is seeing the teens come out of the sacrament of reconciliation with the biggest smiles on their faces. It’s so powerful to see how teens are renewed of their sins and remember how much God loves them. It’s never easy to admit we have done wrong, but Steubenville teaches teenagers that God’s love sets us free. As Mark Hart, Catholic author, Vice President of Life Teen, and a well-known speaker in the Steubenville world tells us, “You have a God that loves you so much, that He would rather die, than risk spending eternity without you.” He also mentions that the chaperones that accompany you on this conference weekend, would not be going if they didn’t care about the journey you are on, or that you are called to. This retreat would not be possible without the help of the ministers and adults willing to spend the weekend with thousands of teenagers with beautiful souls.

I have never felt so at peace after attending this. I had learned to trust the Lord with my whole heart and that He had a plan for me. Before this powerful weekend, every burden I carried on my shoulders had taken over my life, and I wasn’t sure how much more I could have handled. By the second night of the conference, I had recognized that those burdens didn’t exist anymore. I completely forgot about them even after the weekend had ended. I had given myself to Jesus, and I said the powerful words “I am Yours.” From that day, I took on a new challenge in my life: to continue finding ways on how to strengthen my faith. There’s no end to the opportunities our Lord gives us, and we must seek those opportunities to help others with their own paths towards God.

Everyone attending this conference will have a different story to tell by the time they have to come back into reality and live their everyday life. Some might continue to practice their faith even more and may possibly go into religious life. Some may be called to ministry, and so on. THAT is how powerful this conference is. Whatever your path is, Steubenville helps you stay on it and to look for Christ in others. You will fall in love with Jesus over and over again whenever you think back to this conference and realize the affect the Holy Spirit had on you.