By Sr. Kim Xuan Nguyen, CCVI

On July 28-29, 2023 Srs. Pauline Troncale, Kim Xuan Nguyen, Symphonie Ngo, Juana Matias, Fridah Munjuri, Maruca Ramirez Lopez, Noella Nshobole, and Florence Muchai attended the Archdiocesan Youth Conference (AYC) at the Hilton of the Americas Hotel in downtown Houston. AYC is the largest evangelizing event for older adolescents that the Office of Adolescent Catechesis and Evangelization hosts annually.

This year, the AYC invited many popular keynote speakers such as Fr. Casey Cole, Paul Kim, and Meg Hunter-Kilmer. More than 1,000 teens along with their youth ministers and some parents from all over the local church gathered to pray, share fellowship, and talk about the faith with the theme of “Gift Received Gift Shared.” It is a wonderful opportunity for young people to share and deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ through dynamic talks, daily Mass, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, interactive workshops, and exhibitors from various Catholic organizations. It is also an opportunity for us to be present and endorse religious life as a vocation for young people. We had our lively community of Sisters there to sing and promote consecrated life, particularly in our congregation. It was a wonderful experience to see many from Gen Z at the event, full of energy and hope, wanting to deepen their relationships with God and others.