The church is alive: A teen’s witness from NCYC
By Sadie Pituch12/03/2025
My name is Sadie Pituch, a student at Cathedral Preparatory School and a member of Our Lady of Peace Parish. I recently had the opportunity to attend the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis and am excited to share my experience with you.
The entire conference was incredible, so it’s hard to pick a favorite moment. Being in an NFL stadium with 16,000 other teens on fire for Christ was not at all the way I expected to start my Thanksgiving break, but it was one of the best possible ways. We kicked-off the conference with praise and worship on Thursday evening, and I could feel the Holy Spirit moving in the stadium. My first thought was the best kind of overwhelmed. I remember thinking, “wow, all of these people love Jesus and came here for Him.” It was amazing.
Friday morning was the historic encounter with the Holy Father, which our diocesan group had the opportunity to be on the floor for. It was almost unreal knowing that he was speaking in real time to a bunch of kids in an NFL stadium while he was in Assisi. There were tears shed when he came on the screen, along with a lot of screaming. When he saw all the youth in the stadium, he looked like he was about to cry, and that was my favorite moment. It was so human and reminded me that while he is the Pope, he is also still a person like the rest of us.
My favorite topic he talked about was friendships. He said we needed to prioritize physical connection over screens and spoke about how that was relevant in today’s world, where most of our connections are done digitally. In my own life, I’m incredibly grateful for all my good and holy friendships that lead me closer to Jesus.
Adoration on Friday night was incredible. I’ve had experiences with praise and worship during Adoration at DME, Catholic Youth Summer Camp (now Damascus Summer Camp), Steubenville Youth Conferences and youth group, but never at this scale. Seeing the awe and reverence for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament was so inspiring. We were all just focused on Him and nothing else. During this time, I also had the opportunity to go to Confession, and it just so happened that while I was confessing the Exposition was occurring. I couldn’t clearly hear the Exposition hymn, but I knew that He was there, just behind the wall dividing the stadium. During the prayer of absolution, I knew that His mercy was for everyone, from the greatest saints to the worst of sinners.
NCYC helped me realize that while we often talk about the church dying, she really isn’t. The youth are here, and they are on fire for Jesus! Yes, we absolutely need more people responding to their vocations, but without knowing Jesus, they cannot do that. I want to invite more people into relationship with Jesus now that I’m home. He changed my life, and He can do that for everyone.
Below are a few photos from Sadie's NCYC weekend:
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