In the United States, "youth" are defined as those young people ages 12-18 in junior high school and high school. They are also known as "adolescents" or "teens." Youth are emerging leaders and protagonists in the Church and within their communities, schools, and society at large.
Youth Ministry
A USCCB National Pastoral Framework for Ministries with Youth and Young Adults entitled Listen, Teach, Send (available here) serves as the primary guide for the Catholic approach to young people (including teens and young adults). Inspired and responding to Pope Francis's apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit, it is also a summons for local parishes and faith communities to renew and revitalize their accompaniment and evangelization of younger generations.
"Youth Ministry is important in the life of the Church! In this grace-filled moment, you and I are called, by the Lord, to do this important ministry.
It is an exciting time to do Youth Ministry in this 'moment of grace,' especially with the election of Pope Francis. His humility, simplicity and example is prompting the world, especially among young people, to give the Church a 'second look'.
I come to you as a pastor of the Church and a fellow pilgrim in the journey of faith to help read the signs of the times. In order to adapt our ministry in this changing world, we need to be clear about what we are being asked to do by the Lord Jesus. We are being asked to help young people answer the single most important question of their lives: the call to evangelization.
In the digital age, Youth Ministry is bringing the Good News to young people by the art of living well - and it begins and ends with the Lord. May we remain faithful to the challenges of our own time, and using the gifts before us, including technology, may we bring many people to live well in this life and the next."
-His Excellency, The Most Reverent Frank J. Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut
Member of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth
Pope Francis launched a synod process in October 2016, seeking to provide a Catholic response to the reality of young people in connection to faith, the community of the Church, and each one’s vocational calling. That journey continued through to the Synod of Bishops in October 2018 and the subsequent release of Christus Vivit, Pope Francis' post-synodal apostolic exhortation, in April 2019. In Christus Vivit, Pope Francis writes “to young people and to the entire people of God.”
We recommend visiting our online guide for Christus Vivit page for resources related to discussing and implementing Christus Vivit.
Renewing the Vision: A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry builds on the fine tradition begun by the 1976 document, A Vision of Youth Ministry. To respond to the new challenges and opportunities of our day the Catholic bishops of the United States offer this document as a blueprint for the continued development of effective ministry with young and older adolescents.
Pope John Paul II announced the institution of World Youth Day in December, 1985, as an annual gathering of jóvenes, between the ages of 16 and 35, for prayer, worship and celebration of the Catholic faith. The event is observed annually in dioceses and every two to three years at an international gathering.
World Youth Day