How to keep college kids Catholic

Many Catholic parents worry that their children away at college hit the snooze button on Sunday morning instead of going to Mass.

During a May 17 workshop at Spring Enrichment, "Making the Transition from High School to College," Rev. Robert Longobucco will draw on his experience as a campus minister to discuss one of the most important transitions young people face: from teenager living at home to independent young adult at college.

"It's the primary transition [into adulthood] for a lot of people," he told The Evangelist. "It leads to a time of confusion. They come up against different values than they knew at home."

The workshop is meant for youth ministers, parents and other adults with college students in their lives.

Keep the faith

"For teenagers coming [to college], the key is not to get swallowed up by a larger environment, by independence, by what you believe to be the prevailing wind wherever you're going. And it feels that way. You feel so small," Father Longobucco explained.

Since the college years are a time of radical change and development for young adults, it's important for students to maintain their core values, he said, because "once you do that, you recognize yourself."

It's also important for new collegians to share experiences with people who have their values and faith. "That can be a very comforting thing," he said.

Transition

What makes the transfer easier is that college Masses often use musicians, lectors and Eucharistic ministers who are students, he said.

The college years are a time when young adults learn to "own" their faith, Father Longobucco believes. Sometimes, that comes after a dry spell that can last from weeks to years.

"Suddenly, the responsibility is all your own," he explained. "What I found happens a lot [is that] people say, 'I don't have to go to church.' When they come back, they realize how much they missed it."

Adult aid

To ease the transition, he suggested parents continue to let students know Masses and services exist on campus, and campus ministers get to students through outreach efforts, "so they feel they can come back. I can't think of a campus ministry in the world where they wouldn't come back to open arms and real celebration."

But campus ministry shouldn't be where the story ends. Father Longobucco challenges parishes to recognize graduates who have planned and been central to liturgies and community experiences at their college campus ministries, and to invite them to bring those talents back to their own parishes.

They should not be introduced "as junior members of their churches," he said, "but as real leaders with skills. They have to feel empowered in order to make it work."

(4/19/07) [[In-content Ad]]