By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
The energy was electric at SEEK25, according to Dallas diocese participants who traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the January conference.
Hosted annually by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), SEEK is a large, multi-day Catholic conference that invites thousands of young people each year into a deeper relationship with Christ and the wider community of the faithful.
For the first time this year, SEEK hosted simultaneous conferences in Salt Lake City, Jan. 1-5, and Washington, D.C., Jan. 2-5, the latter of which welcomed more than 3,000 participants.
A large contingent from the Diocese of Dallas attended the Salt Lake City conference, joining the more than 17,000 Catholics gathered at Salt Palace Convention Center for the five-day event. Dallas representatives included FOCUS missionaries and students from the University of Dallas, Southern Methodist University, and the University of Texas at Dallas; members of Dallas-based Catholic organizations and ministries; and Dallas diocese deaconate candidates, seminarians, and priests. Bishop Edward J. Burns was also among those representing the Diocese of Dallas, a contingent totaling more than 150 conference participants.
Salt Lake City
Sarah Pecoraro, an SMU sophomore who attended SEEK for the first time this year, used the words “energetic and bustling” to recall her time at Salt Lake City’s SEEK25.
“I knew it would be an incredible opportunity to be with so many other Catholic college students all in one space,” Pecoraro shared. The sophomore recalled taking advantage of the wide range of opportunities the conference offered participants, from impact sessions to live podcasts to moments of connection with other members of the Church. “It was amazing to see so many people have fun, in deep conversation, or relaxing between big events.”
A buzz of activity, the conference offered a make-your-own-adventure of sorts to participants: Conference-goers could choose between a wealth of talks covering topics from theology of the body to the pursuit of happiness, and between a range of activities, including an over 2,000 person strong speed dating event hosted by Dallas-based Candid Dating.
The conference offered divergent tracks to fit the needs of its participants: a Collegiate Track for students, a Making Missionary Disciples Track for post-college participants, and a Campus Ministry Experience for campus ministers and chaplains. Daily Mass and adoration were available to all.
“I loved singing at Mass and adoration with everyone at SEEK,” Pecoraro shared. “It was an amazing and beautiful moment to hear everyone’s voices meld together praising and glorifying God.”
Angela Vu, a junior at the University of Dallas who attended SEEK25, said she made use of the myriad occasions to attend meet and greets, chat with some of her favorite speakers, and rub elbows with a variety of religious orders and apostolates in “Mission Way.” A slew of vendor booths, Mission Way featured various religious orders, Catholic universities, faith-based businesses, and ministries, including the Missionary Institute at St. Ann Catholic Church in Coppell.
“The atmosphere was surreal,” Vu said of the conference, recalling the experience of witnessing thousands of young Catholics from around the country gathering in one place to praise God. “Attending the conference, I knew that I was a part of something grand and glorious.”
Finding fellowship
For the first time this year, the Diocese of Dallas organized a dinner for all Dallas diocese participants of the Salt Lake City SEEK conference. Hosted by the diocese’s Office of Vocations and Office of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministries on Jan. 2, the dinner offered Dallas participants the opportunity to congregate as a community over burgers and tater tots. More than 150 Dallas conference-goers attended.
“We were really expressing that we have a community here in Dallas, a Catholic community that we want to support and see and grow,” Jacob Coffman, associate director of content development for the Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministries office of the Diocese of Dallas, explained.
Among those present at the dinner was Bishop Burns, who expressed his gratitude to the Dallas community and engaged in conversation with the students, campus ministers, and others gathered.
Vocations Director Fr. Mark Garrett, also in attendance, said of the dinner, “Gathering together at SEEK25 as a diocese helped connect our college students with the roots of their faith in their parishes and diocese. Hopefully it helps them, in those times during and after their college years, to feel grounded in their local Church.”
Commenting on the conference as a whole, Coffman shared that SEEK25 served as a testament to a universal Church that is present and on fire for Christ.
“You’re seeing college students alive for the Lord and speaking into that,” Coffman said. “They’re able to see a Church that is alive across the country, because people are coming from all different environments.”
Vu, a witness to the power of students gathering together at SEEK25, shared that she left the conference impacted by what she experienced there. The junior said her experience helped her return to her “first love”: Jesus. “It rekindled my love for Christ and made me remember why I decided to give my life to Jesus to begin with,” she said.
SEEK26 is scheduled to take place in three host cities across America, including in Fort Worth, Texas, Jan. 1-5, 2026.
Cutline for featured image: Bishop Edward J. Burns joined the pilgrims from the Diocese of Dallas for a diocesan dinner Jan. 2 at the SEEK25 conference in Salt Lake City. SEEK25 is a five-day Catholic conference hosted by FOCUS to encounter Jesus Christ and draw deeper into relationship with Him and His Church. (TROY LIRETTE/Diocese of Dallas)
