SEEK college student conference fires up N.D. Catholics

North Dakota college students joined tens of thousands of young Catholics at the SEEK conference’s Columbus, Ohio venue, dedicating the days of Jan. 1-5 to prayer, spiritual growth and fellowship. Among the event surprises: a video speech from Pope Leo XIV.

The North Dakota State University (NDSU) group included 95 students, six missionaries and Father James Cheney, pastor of St. Paul’s Newman Center in Fargo. The University of North Dakota (UND) group, for its part, had 44 students, five missionaries and Father Chris Markman, pastor of the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center in Grand Forks.
SEEK is organized by FOCUS, a Colorado-based Catholic outreach with missionaries serving at more than 200 college campuses in the U.S., Mexico and Europe.

“This was five days where we joined 16,000 other Catholic college students from across the country for Mass every day, talks by well- known speakers, time in fellowship to grow in deeper community and time in Adoration where the Lord encountered each person in such beautiful ways,” Madyson Hamling, UND team director for FOCUS, told New Earth. “These five days together really allowed us to see how alive Christ is in the Church and how deeply he desires to work in and through all of us.” 

“The SEEK Conference serves as a catalyst for deep conversion, and this year, Bison Catholic saw that fire ignite in unexpected ways,” Aaron Filzen, NDSU team director for FOCUS, told New Earth. “Among our group was a Protestant leader from (Christian campus ministry) Chi Alpha; for the first time, he was able to encounter the beauty and depth of the Catholic faith in a way that challenged and inspired him.”

At the conclusion of the event’s opening Mass Jan. 2, Pope Leo XIV spoke to attendees in a video message.

“Dear young people: what do you seek?” the pope asked. “Why are you here at this conference? Perhaps your hearts are also restless, searching for meaning and fulfillment and direction for your lives.”

“The Lord Jesus alone brings us true peace and joy and fulfills every one of our deepest desires,” he said, encouraging them to “be open to what the Lord has in store for you.”
Filzen said students aim to bring home the energy and commitment they found at SEEK.

“Two NDSU football players returned to campus with a new conviction, committing themselves to the heart of the Church by attending daily Mass this semester,” he said. “Furthermore, two young alumni from UND living in Valley City found exactly what they were searching for: a vibrant encounter with Catholicism that isn’t always easy to find in the post-grad world. 

“Back on the campus of NDSU men and women aren't just keeping this experience to themselves—they are returning to their peers with a renewed desire to make Christ known and share the fullness of the truth,” Filzen added. “Pray for the campus to come alive in Christ and for this diocese to be set on fire!”