I started my blog, The Catholic Millennial, in the midst of one of these productivity spurts at the start of September while in my un-air-conditioned upstairs apartment in the late-summer Kingston, Ont., heat.

The birth of the blog idea was quick. Coming back to school and meeting up again with all my friends from the bustling Catholic Chaplaincy on Queen’s University campus, I found that there was a gap in online evangelization.

As 20-something Catholics, we are well-acquainted with the online world. There is a plethora of online resources for people who want to learn more about Catholicism, but they are so far spread that it is often hard to find what you’re looking for.

I have found that many of my peers have something to say about how they came to understand different aspects of the Catholic faith or how they live the faith practically in their own lives, but they find it really hard to have their voices heard. It’s a crowded Internet universe.

I started The Catholic Millennial with all of this in mind, wanting to create a platform through which Catholic young adults could find resources beyond Fr. Mike Schmitz videos (no matter how great they are). I wanted to create an online space where people could use their talents to share their stories and connect with other young Catholics.

At Queen’s University, I am privileged to be surrounded by strong Catholics, but not everyone has this opportunity. A sense of community is so integral to living out a solid faith, especially in such a secular society, it is near impossible to travel this road alone.

On the first Sunday of Advent, we held our first livestream through The Catholic Millennial’s Facebook page. I organized a panel of four Catholic millennials, and we all gathered on one sofa and chatted about Advent.

The conversation swept from being highly intellectual to more practical, all focusing on how to make the most of this season of waiting. Viewers posted comments in realtime and we received encouraging feedback. There were requests for another livestream and an increasing interest in becoming involved with The Catholic Millennial community.

I have the hope that The Catholic Millennial will be proof that young Catholics do exist and are, in fact, alive and well.

Growing from an audience of 10 loyal followers from my inner circle to 120, the feedback on my blog shows that this sort of online community is something that the Catholic world needs.

Now with an Instagram page, a Facebook page and officially dabbling in the world of livestream videos, the activity on and through this platform has been incredible.

(Villeneuve, 20, is a third-year Concurrent Education student at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.)