Teens find themselves “worthy” in the eyes of the Lord at Steubenville STL Mid-America youth conference

Bella Williams wasn’t Catholic when she attended a Steubenville youth conference last summer.

This year’s experience was much different. This time, she came as a newly minted Catholic. In the past year, Bella asked questions, had conversations with friends in her youth group at Holy Infant in Ballwin and ultimately sought the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil.

Steubenville was part of her coming home to the Church.

“Being able to connect more and relate more to things, yeah, it’s really cool,” the rising senior at Marquette High School in Chesterfield said. “It’s been a different experience now, knowing more about the faith, especially when I’ve grown in the past year.”

Bella and thousands of teens from the Midwest and beyond reflected on the theme “Worthy” from 1 Samuel 17:47 (“For the battle belongs to the Lord”) through inspiring talks, praise and worship and the sacraments at the annual Steubenville STL Mid-America youth conferences over two weekends in July.

With the theme, teens explored two questions: Am I worth love? And given the stakes, is the Christian life worth living?

God is “saying that He is fighting for you,” Bella said. “He is always going to be by your side and is on your side, and that even through troubled times, He is rooting for you. You can’t get in a fight with God — He’ll always be there for you. You’re always so worthy to Him.”

Held on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield, the conferences are organized through a partnership among the archdiocesan Office of Youth Ministry, Steubenville Conferences and Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. The event is one of numerous Steubenville youth conferences typically held in the summer in more than a dozen cities across the United States and Canada.

Throughout each weekend, teens gathered at Great Southern Bank Arena on campus and heard from speakers on various topics related to the theme. The sacraments are key elements of the weekends, including Mass, confessions and eucharistic adoration. For many teens, the weekend is a life-changing experience, shaping how they practice their faith.

From its inception in 1999 as a weekend event hosted in St. Louis just a few months after St. John Paul II’s pastoral visit, the STL Mid-America conference has grown over the years. This year, 4,410 teens from 17 states attended the first weekend July 10-12, and 4,499 from 12 states attended the second weekend, held July 17-19.

Host Mari Pablo opened the second weekend of the conference July 17 by reflecting on the theme of “Worthy.”

“What this word means is that when something is really good and really powerful, that we’re able to give it its value and respect,” she said. “I want to focus on two things: the fact that we are worthy because we belong to the Lord, and the fact that the Lord is worthy of our hearts.” Whether a first-time attendee or someone who has been before, “we just invite you to be open and to receive whatever the Lord has in store for us.”

In a special video message marking the 50th anniversary of the first Steubenville youth conference in 1976, Pope Leo XIV spoke to attendees about the importance of a relationship with God in order to achieve true and perfect joy.

He reflected on the message of St. Francis of Assisi, who reflected authentic peace and perfect joy, and encouraged attendees to use the weekend as an opportunity to deepen their faith and consider their future vocation.

“St. Francis’ message, and mine, is simple: True peace and perfect joy are gifts from God that come when we open ourselves to Him and trust in His power to transform us,” the pope said. “What can we give Him in return for such great love, for such generous gifts? Nothing but ourselves!

“I wish all of you a fruitful conference, praying that in these days you will be filled with Christ’s love and come to know other young people who desire to give their lives completely to Him, and in so doing, find true happiness,” Pope Leo said.

Friday night’s keynote speaker, Sister M. Karolyn Nunes of the Franciscan Sisters of the Martyr St. George, expanded upon the theme, citing her preference of a work of art created by her three-year-old niece Eloise over Mark Rothko’s 1961 abstract masterpiece, “Orange, Red, Yellow,” which sold for $86.9 million in 2012. It isn’t about the price tag, she said, but the person behind the creation that gives it value.

“Let’s just consider for a moment the reality that all of us sitting in this arena tonight are created in the image and likeness of God who is love … the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a perfect communion of life and love,” she said. “That our source, that our foundation is that love. That we are created from that love, by that love and also for that love.”

As a result of the fall of mankind, sometimes “we believe that our worth is kind of changeable, that our worth fluctuates based on our performance, that our worth fluctuates based on whether or not we are impressing people or doing what we think we’re supposed to do,” she said. “But we are created and we are claimed and we are anointed with a chosenness that comes from God alone.”

Naomi Briggs has been to five Steubenville conferences and with two different youth groups, this year with St. Justin Martyr in Sunset Hills. The rising senior at Ursuline Academy said she values the sense of community and the spiritual growth she’s experienced, particularly in discovering new ways to pray.

“There’s just so many teens who all have the same love for God … and it’s always just so amazing to walk in Friday night and just look around and see everybody singing and clapping and praising the Lord,” she said. “It definitely taught me new ways to pray and new ways that I can praise God. Before Steubenville, I didn’t really know praise and worship or anything, and now it’s my favorite way to pray.”

Lucy Regina, an incoming freshman at Incarnate Word Academy, was a first-time attendee with her youth group at Immaculate Conception in Dardenne Prairie. Through the speakers and small-group conversations throughout the weekend, Lucy recognized that “I (can) have bad days and I can still turn back to God and He will forgive me. He knows that I am worthy even when I don’t feel like it,” she said.

“I’m hoping to thank God for all He has given me — sometimes I feel like I don’t thank Him enough and I should,” Lucy said. “I also want to grow my faith … I hope this helps me come back and grow stronger. I hope that I meet a lot of people and have a good time so I can remember that this is what the Catholic faith is about.”