CCO focuses on university students, encouraging them to take an active interest in their faith and go out and make change in the world. The organization originated in 1988 in Saskatoon and now serves 11 university campuses Canada-wide.
Founders André and Angèle Regnier were inspired by the late Pope John Paul II’s desire for evangelization, as well as a lack of enthusiasm among the Catholic students at the University of Saskatchewan.
The annual Rise Up event was launched in 2000.
“We began Rise Up as a way to gather students who are involved in the movement from across Canada,” said Jackie O’Donnell, CCO Director of Missions and Conferences who joined CCO in 2000. “Rise Up helps our students see that they are a part of something that is bigger than their own campus movement.”
Rise Up in Ottawa will run from Dec. 28 to Jan. 1. The national gathering of youth has been held in several different cities across Canada, 2012 being the first time it was held in two simultaneously. Recent Rise Up events have occurred in Vancouver (2011) and Halifax and Saskatoon (2012).
“When Rise Up began we (CCO) were in Saskatoon, Vancouver and Ottawa. I would say that Rise Up is one of many things that has helped us become more known in Canada,” said O’Donnell.
The conference is youth-oriented and focused on motivating youth to do more with their faith and evangelization.
“Rise Up is a conference for young adults that will provide inspiring talks, by speakers from around the world, that will inspire you in your faith and stir within you a desire to share your faith with others. There are practical workshops that give you the tools to grow in your faith and share it. There is worship, daily Mass, opportunities for fellowship,” she said.
O’Donnell organizes all of CCO’s student mission projects. This coming year there are four planned: one during the February break to the Yukon and three during the summer to Victoria, B.C., Quebec City and Uganda. But Rise Up remains the largest CCO event with 700 people expected to attend.
O’Donnell says the Rise Up conference started small.
“The first conference was 140 participants in December 2000, and it has grown in the last 13 years, with our largest conference being 600 attendees. We do hope that Rise Up will continue to grow, with plans to split into two conferences when necessary.”
Though O’Donnell is in an administrative role, she is far from being chained to her desk.
“Yes I have attended every conference, and my primary role is behind the scenes making sure everything runs smoothly, but I do have the opportunity to participate in sessions and hear the speakers, and every year I am moved and grow because of something that I have heard or experienced,” she said.
Looking toward the future of her mission at CCO, O’Donnell says, “There is always more, as our hearts’ desire as a movement is to reach the world with the Gospel, but I do feel that we have made an impact on the youth of Canada. Thousands of young people have participated in CCO faith studies, attend Rise Up events or gone on mission. And many of these young people have continued to walk in their faith and share it with others long after university. But there are still many young people walking away from their faith and our desire is that we may be used to share Christ with the young people of Canada and the world.”
As for Rise Up 2013, “It is the conference that you don’t want to miss,” she said.
For more information, visit www.cco.ca.
(Johnson, 22, is a third-year English/Concurrent Education student at York University’s Glendon College, Toronto.)