Andrew Abbott was on the brink of breaking out into the Canadian Christian music scene. But after releasing his first album in 2013 and then another one in 2016, the London, Ont., native said he went in “auto-pilot mode.”

Summer is here which means the busyness of the school year is gone. It’s the perfect time to unplug from the real world and curl up with a good book. That’s why The Catholic Register and Youth Speak News have put together a list of faith-based youth titles that we think young book lovers will love. Stay tuned to our growing list of summer reads: 

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RAPOGI, Kenya – Many parishioners at St. Monica Church in western Kenya are unhappy after their favorite priest was suspended for misconduct by the Diocese of Homa Bay.

Recently I was able to visit Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ont. This site is a national shrine consecrated to the Canadian Martyrs, a group of eight Jesuits who lived in community with the Huron people and who were tortured and killed for their faith. 

Mary Sharp joined the Young Catholic Musicians choir because she found an outlet for her joy of music and the joy of the Gospel. Last week, for the very first time, she and her fellow musicians shared their joy with audiences in Canada. 

LIMA, Peru – More than 1,000 young pilgrims will share their cultures, joys and struggles at a gathering of indigenous youth in a small town in Panama just before World Youth Day in January.

Most of my childhood Sundays were spent below the stained glass windows of a beautiful church filled with incense. I was a “cradle Catholic,” baptized in a white gown and confirmed when I still had braces. However, some Sundays I spent in a modestly decorated Pentecostal church. 

Eunice Gichuhi is half a world away from her native country, but that has never stopped her from reaching out to help. 

It has been one year since I graduated from the Bachelor of Commerce program at the University of Manitoba and I can’t help but think back to a time when I was drowning in the stress of exams. 

When relativism is the widely accepted doctrine on university campuses, backed by the feel-good motto of “you do you,” it’s easy to imagine how young Catholics might be swept away by the notion that there is no objective truth. 

VATICAN – Young people want to know they are valued members of the Catholic Church and that their questions and struggles are taken seriously enough that someone will spend time with them discussing issues rather than simply repeating "prefabricated" responses, said delegates to a meeting in Rome.

Sixteen-year-old Mary-Margaret Asoata wasn’t expecting much from Service Week. 

As the Vatican prepares for an important Synod of Bishops on youth, an American organization has released a study that says young people who reject the Church typically fall into one of three categories: the injured, the drifters or the dissenters.

VATICAN – After the Angelus Sunday, with the help of a tablet and two young people, Pope Francis signed up for World Youth Day 2019 in Panama, announcing that registration for the international event has opened.

SANTIAGO, Chile  – Pope Francis challenged young Chileans, telling them to always ask themselves, "What would Christ do in my place?"