By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
As an assistant project manager working in commercial construction management, Argelia Simon Perez’s days are filled with submittals, financials, and quality reports. Her work requires her to be detail-oriented and organized, she said, and to collaborate with clients and workers to get the job done — and to get it done well.
That work is a part of who Simon Perez is; but, as a faithful Catholic, it is certainly not all of who she is. The young professional said she had the opportunity to bring those two important parts of herself — career and faith — together in an intentional way during Young Catholic Professionals’ 2026 National Conference.
Headquartered in Dallas with chapters from coast to coast, Young Catholic Professionals is an organization that fosters the integration of faith, career, and community-building among Catholic workers in their 20s and 30s. YCP’s conferences are an opportunity for that community of young workers to gather for formation and fellowship.
The gift of work
According to Simon Perez’s retelling, her decision to go to the conference was more akin to a stroke of inspiration than a long deliberation. The National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe parishioner recalled waking up one day suddenly bolstered with a strong conviction: God was calling her to take part in the 2026 National Conference; so, she needed to go. The problem, she said, was that registration had already closed by that point. When some spots serendipitously opened up, she saw her chance to snag one.
As she arrived at the conference, held at the Marriott at Legacy Town Center April 10-12, she found herself surrounded by a sea of other young adult Catholics from YCP chapters across the country who contribute their gifts to the world in a wide range of professions — from business to medicine to ministry.
“Nobody in the conference was embarrassed to be a Catholic and a professional,” Simon Perez said. “So, it was a really good atmosphere.”
The three-day event featured networking events, opportunities for prayer, and keynote addresses designed to integrate spiritual life with professional life and to turn individual young professionals into a united community of faith. The conference centered on the theme “Unshakeable: A Samurai’s Path to Sainthood,” pulling inspiration from the story of Blessed Justo Takayama Ukon, a Japanese samurai who committed his life to Christ.
“Through beautiful liturgies, profound homilies, and compelling speakers,” said Jennifer Baugh, founder of Young Catholic Professionals, “we were challenged not just to be good Catholics, but to pursue holiness with discipline and courage, inspired by Blessed Takayama’s unshakable faith.”
For Simon Perez, one of the most impactful sessions was a presentation on the dignity of work.
“That one was one of my favorite sessions, because it talked about how we sometimes think work is a burden, or work is something that we have to do, and maybe we don’t go to work enjoying it every single day,” the YCP member said. “He talked about how work is not a burden, how it’s actually a responsibility that we have with God, because God gave you gifts.”
“It kind of changed my perspective on how I should view work,” she added.
The gift of community
The conference was not just about learning to mesh profession and faith, Simon Perez said; it was also about forming concrete connections — and the conference made that labor of networking easy.
The 30-year-old recalled sitting in a circle of six to eight participants during one of the conference sessions. Those at the table were asked to take out their phones and write down a list of professional and faith-oriented commitments — going to Mass more, earning a promotion at work, and so on — before passing their phones to the person next to them.
“You’re going to send them your commitment list, and then they will follow up with you over the next week, next couple months, to make sure that you’re on track with your goals,” Simon Perez recalled the session leader saying, “because the conference wasn’t only about learning, but it was about making connections and an action plan and staying in contact with them so they can be your accountability partner.”
Simon Perez also recalled a more spontaneous connection that formed during the conference.
“On Saturday night, I ended up spending probably an hour and a half talking to three other girls from different states,” she said. “We had a really good midnight girls’ conversation about the conference, about what we learned about God and how he wants us to be able to do good, not only professionally but in our lives.”
The group of young women — hailing from Texas, Pennsylvania, and Georgia — decided to form a monthly virtual Bible study group to stay in touch and continue growing together in faith.
“I got to make a lot of connections from people that were from different chapters all over the nation,” she said — as did hundreds of other participants.
“It truly was an inspirational weekend,” Baugh said of the conference, “with a deep joy, gratitude, and vibrant faith among attendees that seemed to grow stronger simply by being together.”
Cutline for featured image: Argelia Simon Perez, a parishioner of the National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, poses for a photo at the Diocese of Dallas Pastoral Center on April 15. Simon Perez was one of hundreds of Catholic young adults to attend Young Catholic Professionals’ 2026 National Conference April 10-12. (AMY WHITE/The Texas Catholic)
