What happens when a graduating senior leaves the Catholic community they’ve known and heads to college?

That question was at the heart of the Archdiocese of Hartford Summit, which brought more than 100 youth ministry and religious education leaders from nine dioceses across New England together for a day of discussion around the Listen. Teach. Send. pastoral framework released by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in 2024.

The Archdiocese of Hartford, a new partner with Newman Connection, organized the day in partnership with the USCCB.

The framework applies not only to ministry leaders and religious educators, but also to Newman Connection’s national Faith Forward movement, which helps connect young people to a Catholic community as they move into the next stage of their lives after high school.

A Critical Transition for Catholic Students

Newman Connection was honored to be invited by the Archdiocese of Hartford to speak about one of the most important transitions in a young person's faith journey: the move from high school to college.

I hosted a resource table and led a breakout session, “Mission on the Digital Continent: Connecting Young People to Their Faith in a Digital World.” Twenty-five youth ministers joined the breakout session, where we talked about what happens when graduating seniors leave the communities that have supported them.

I began with a story about a student who arrived on a college campus, intentionally looking for a Catholic community. Through friendships and mentorship, she encountered Christ in a powerful way that grounded her in her faith.

But not every student arrives on campus looking for a Catholic community.

Some may not know where to look. Others may not realize how much they need community until they are already struggling without it. Some may simply get lost in the transition.

The young ministers in the room nodded in agreement.

The question became simple: How do we make sure our graduating seniors don't vanish after May?

It Doesn't Take a New Program. It Takes an Invitation.

The answer isn't necessarily another program or another responsibility for an already busy youth minister.

Sometimes, it starts with one adult a student already trusts, saying one true thing before they leave: Go find that community on your campus. Keep pursuing Christ there.

Any youth minister, DRE, teacher, or parish volunteer can give it. What they often need are simple tools and resources that make it easier to help students take that next step.

That is the foundation of the Faith Forward movement.

Faith Forward helps bridge the gap between the Catholic community a student knows in high school and the one awaiting them in their next chapter. But Faith Forward cannot reach a graduating senior on its own.

It depends on the people already walking with that student.

Accompaniment Happens Through Partnership

The Listen. Teach. Send. framework calls Catholic leaders to intentionally accompany young people through each stage of their lives, creating opportunities for them to encounter Christ along the way.

That accompaniment doesn't end when a student graduates.

Youth ministers and religious education leaders send students into new seasons every year. Some head to college across the country. Others enter the military or move somewhere entirely new.

Before they leave, they need a connection. They need to know that a Catholic community is waiting for them.

Chris Otis is already doing this.

Chris leads ministry at St. Aloysius Parish in the Diocese of Bridgeport. She wanted her graduating seniors to leave with more than a “congratulations.” She wanted them to have a real next step and a way to connect with a Catholic community of their peers.

Last spring, she began handing out Faith Forward resources at her parish's graduation Mass. This fall, she is putting together care packages for recent graduates to help support them during their first semester on campus.

She has seen how simple it can be to incorporate Faith Forward into parish life.

“You can spend hours researching where your young people are going off to college, or you can use this program. It’s easy, it’s simple, and you are watching out for the souls of your young people.”

Chris isn't creating an entirely new ministry. She's taking something she is already doing: walking with young people and making sure that accompaniment continues into their next chapter.

Bridging the Gap From Both Sides

Throughout the summit, I also met young adults from Crossroads 4 Christ, a ministry that builds community for young adults in the Archdiocese of Hartford after college.

It struck me how naturally our work fits together.

They're helping bridge the gap after college.

Faith Forward is helping bridge the gap before it.

Together, that creates something powerful: a young person can have someone walking with them on both sides of graduation.

That kind of continuity matters.

What I Remembered About My Own First Year of College

Throughout the day's workshops, small-group conversations, and large-group discussions, I kept thinking about my own first year of college.

Like many students, I didn't fully realize how much I needed community to help me grow in my faith until I became part of one.

I had missionaries and friends who walked with me. They invited me to pray, attend events, go on retreats, and encounter Christ in the Eucharist.

Looking back, those invitations mattered.

That's the work every youth minister, director of religious education, and parish volunteer at the summit is already doing. They walk with young people every day.

But timing matters.

The moments right before a senior leaves can be an opportunity to remind them that their faith doesn't have to stay behind when they graduate.

One invitation from someone they already trust can help a student take the next step toward a Catholic community instead of quietly drifting away.

The Invitation Is Still Ours to Give

During a morning reflection, the Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Hartford shared a quote from St. Teresa of Calcutta:

“You were not called to be successful, you were called to be faithful.”

I keep coming back to those words.

None of us can guarantee that a graduating senior will find their way to a parish, Catholic campus ministry, or faith community in their next chapter.

We can only keep offering the invitation and trust God with the rest.

Every diocese, parish, youth minister, religious educator, and volunteer has a part to play in that.

Faith Forward doesn't replace the relationships already at the heart of ministry. It builds on them.

If you have a senior walking out of your parish or classroom this year, give them an invitation to keep pursuing community and keep pursuing Christ.

Help them find a Catholic community for their next chapter.

Because sometimes, staying connected to the Church starts with something as simple as one person saying, “Go find your people. Keep pursuing Christ there.”