Steubenville conferences use the Share the Glory Campaign to financially assist a charity of choice. Catholic Missions In Canada supports the Catholic faith in remote areas in Canada.
Steubenville Toronto runs over the July 4-6 weekend and the collection for Catholic Missions will take place during Mass on the Saturday and Sunday.
“We talk about missions, we talk about supporting missions, but we often don’t think about our own country,” said Fr. Frank Portelli. He says organizers thought that every diocese and bishop could get behind Catholic Missions, “and we could support the Canadian Church.”
Portelli is the director of the Office of Catholic Youth in the Archdiocese of Toronto. The OCY has partnered with Steubenville conferences to host the event.
“We’re just overwhelmed that the Steubenville organizers have decided to include us in their division of charitable funds that come from the Steubenville activities,” said Fr. Philip J. Kennedy, president of Catholic Missions In Canada.
Portelli says supporting Catholic Missions is an opportunity to raise awareness of the needs at home. The plan is to show a short video featuring one of the bishops from a remote diocese and highlight where money from Share the Glory will go. The hope is that with a greater awareness of the Church in Canada, these students will one day help support it.
“We hope they have a greater consciousness,” said Kennedy. “The youth in general that will be participating and attending Steubenville... will come to and understand a different part of the Church, different from their own area and their own parishes. And that’s one of the things that we’re so pleased about.”
Kennedy continued: “If they don’t individually send large amounts of funds to us, that’s okay. They’ve been educated and they will some day come to understand us, that they are able to support us.”
Steubenville Toronto has about 2,500 people registered to attend with the majority of the students coming from Southern Ontario. The conference will also have tables where other Catholic organizations, including higher education institutions and religious orders, can set up to raise awareness about their own operations.
“There’s a natural partnership for them to be there, just to represent their organization,” said Portelli.
“Catholic organizations that are coming, it’s important for them to make their organization open to the younger people, (so that youth) can participate in it and they can have an effect and change that organization” so that younger generations will continue to keep Catholic organizations relevant.