As Youth Editor, I am looking forward to giving young Catholics a platform where their voices can be heard. I hope these pages will continue to keep you connected to your faith community, with information and stories on events uniting us in our faith.

Growing up, I was very involved in my faith community: whether it was as a cast member of my parish’s Easter Passion Play, as a member of the folk choir or going to Mass. Through these experiences I came to appreciate the importance of being active in my parish: it helped me to grow as a Catholic while also having a support system to fall back on.

In fact, my first published article in high school was a column on an issue of faith that I felt strongly about.

That said, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to combine two areas of my life that are of paramount importance: my faith and my writing.

And with so much conflict around the world, it’s easy to see the importance of faith in our lives. It is a force that offers us hope; a beacon of light when the path ahead sometimes seems rather dim.

I join The Register at a very exciting time, with World Youth Day in Madrid now just under a year away.

As well, with the new iPhone application of the new missal being released recently (as well as a wide variety of other faith apps on the market), it’s easy to see that it’s an exciting time to be a youth in the Catholic Church.

Being Catholic is an essential part of who I am.

I know that being able to explore the issues that matter to me as a young Catholic will help me to further develop my spirituality.

We’re all on this faith journey together — and I look forward to learning and growing with you.

In honour of Mother Teresa’s 100th birthday on Aug. 26, I leave you with some wise words by the Nobel Peace Prize winner.

She said, “If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have got to keep putting oil in it.”

With your help, I am eager to continue to keep the Youth Speak News section filled with relevant and vibrant ideas.

Any suggestions for what you’d like to see in the Youth Speak News section? Drop me a line at vanessa@catholicregister.org. I’d love to hear from you.