Story co-written by Sports Editor Mark Musgrave and Reporter Becca-Joy Root

While you may have been enjoying your time back home with family over the holiday break, Catholic Student Fellowship made the trek to the America Center in St. Louis, Missouri for the SEEK23 conference by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) on January 2-6. The conference had over 17,000 attendees from universities and parishes across the nation, all looking to strengthen their faith and grow closer to Christ.

Students were taught by renowned authors and speakers such as Dr. Edward Sri, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jason Evert, Fr. Josh Johnson, Emily Wilson, Paul J Kim, Matt Fradd, and founder of FOCUS Curtis Martin, just to name a few. Some activities outside of talks included daily mass, Eucharistic Adoration, and a concert by pop artist Ben Rector known for his hits “Brand New ” and “Sunday” featuring legendary rapper, Snoop Dog.

Throughout SEEK, participants had the opportunity to attend sessions on a variety of topics in the church. Students personalized the conference and attended talks relating to their own desires and interests.

On the third night of the conference, participants experienced Eucharist Adoration where Christ is exposed in the monstrance. A line of priests carried the monstrance throughout the dome as thousands got on their knees in joyful adoration. The convention center became a truly powerful place to be in as many experienced Christ in adoration for the first time. The deep joy of that night was tangible throughout the rest of the conference as the conference continued.

A huge thank you to the Aquinas College Student Senate for allocating some funds to make this trip possible, as well as all the work they do for RSO’s. SEEK will take place in St. Louis, Missouri again next year and CSF invites anyone to join! Be on the lookout next year for more information!