Students from across the Diocese worship together at annual retreat

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

The Diocese of Covington Office of Youth Ministry hosted the annual High School Summer Retreat, July 12-13, at Thomas More University, Crestview Hills. These retreats are designed to help teens grow in their relationship with God and each other.

This year the theme for the retreat was aligned with the Gospel reading for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Luke 10:25-37, in which Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Based off the Gospel reading the 2025 retreat came to be called the Heart and Soul retreat, inviting students to open their heart and soul to Christ.

“It’s seasonal, it’s liturgical, and they get immersed into the rhythm of the Church. It is a specialized, unique retreat. It’s not one that they have received before. So, it’s very current in the moment and in tune with the prayer of the Church.” said Angie Poat, diocesan youth minister.

Fifty students from parishes across the diocese attended the two-day retreat, where they were able to take a break from everyday life, and bask in the glow of faith-filled peers, sacred celebrations and the Gospel.

“They yearn for this,” said Mrs. Poat. A sentiment that was evident amongst the students in attendance the morning of July 12 as they sang loudly and danced proudly to worship music.

“As long as I’m breathing, I’ve got a reason to praise the Lord,” sang the students as they danced together. Mrs. Poat sees a difference in the way the students praise from the first retreat to now, one she attributes to the efforts of the Eucharistic Revival and the Holy Spirit.

“I think it’s also a fruit of the Eucharistic Revival,” she said, “and these pods of young people around the Diocese who have wanted something like this, and now they have it. Each time they come their energy is growing, it’s the way that they sang and danced, you could see the growth.”

Aside from the singing and dancing, the retreat offered students a chance for reflection and renewal of their heart and soul.

“They’re hungry for authentic relationships, authentic worship and for the Word of God. When you have those three things together in the same place at the same time, it is life changing,” said Mrs. Poat.

While the goal of the retreat is to help students grow in their faith, Mrs. Poat hopes that these retreats allow the students to open their hearts to whatever Christ has in store for them and to see His love for them.

“I hope that they receive whatever the Lord has for them, but I also hope that they have a glimpse of the love that God has for them, that our Bishop has for them, and that we as a Church have for them,” she said.