Hundreds of youth to share faith together during RISE Detroit 2025 in February

Annual conference for high school youth encourages teens to embrace identity in Christ; registration closes Jan. 29

FARMINGTON HILLS — High school students are invited to explore what it means to have an encounter with Christ at the fourth annual Archdiocese of Detroit RISE Conference.

RISE Detroit 2025, a gathering of high school youth, will take place from 9 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, at Mercy High School in Farmington Hills. Registration for the event remains open until Jan. 29.

Mari Pablo of The Evangelical Catholic will be the keynote speaker, and Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton will celebrate Mass.

The theme of this year’s conference draws from Philippians 4:6-7, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, making your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

“RISE is a great opportunity for high school youth to come together with chaperones in order to have a great opportunity to grow in their faith,” said Laura Piccone-Hanchon, coordinator of youth ministry for the Archdiocese of Detroit. “For those who have not had a meaningful encounter with our Lord, we hope that will happen throughout the RISE youth event.”

The day will feature breakout sessions in which young people can share with one another where they find Christ in their life, what it means to be a disciple, and how their faith has matured as they have gotten older.

Pablo’s keynote will reflect what it means to find peace in one’s life by having a relationship with Jesus, Piccone-Hanchon said.

“We’ve asked her to talk about ‘What does peace look like?'” Piccone-Hanchon said. “How can our young people embrace graces that are available, especially through the sacraments? How can young people surrender to God and encounter Christ on a regular basis?

“We want young people to walk away from the event understanding who Jesus is and why Jesus makes a difference in your personal life,” Piccone-Hanchon added.

Some of the key elements added back to the RISE program from its first edition back in 2021 include incorporating more time for young people to mingle with one another and time during the day to intentionally discern what vocation God is calling them to pursue.

As in previous years, this year’s RISE conference features an optional service project.

“People are invited to volunteer and sign up for some service projects throughout the day, such as putting together bags filled with toiletries for Deo Gratias Ministries, making scarves out of fleece material for people in need, writing handwritten cards to be distributed in hospitals and decorating lunch bags for the lunch giveaways of varies agencies throughout the area — just a personal touch to add something to people’s day,” Piccone-Hanchon said.

Beyond the service opportunities and time for reflection, Piccone-Hanchon said seeing a room filled with hundreds of young people coming together to celebrate Mass, to share their own encounters with the Lord and to be a witness to others, is what makes a conference like RISE so crucial to the spiritual development of a young person.

“It’s an opportunity for young people to come together with other young people to celebrate their faith,” Piccone-Hanchon said. “I really hope they will walk away with some really impactful encounters with Christ and encouraged to share that encounter and that faith with their peers in the days, weeks and months to come.”