Bishop leads Raphoe Diocese pilgrims to SEEK24 conference in St Louis

Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Raphoe, led a delegation of pilgrims from the Raphoe Diocese to the SEEK24 conference in the United States this week.

The group attended the conference in St Louis, Missouri.

SEEK24 attracted upwards of 20,000 young people for talks and presentation relating to the Catholic faith while Mass, confession and adoration also took place during the week. The attendance is a record for the conference, which included keynote speakers such as Fr John Ignatius Ezratty, Monsignor and James Shea.

“A fierce lot of them were totally on fire with love for God, the faith and the Church,” Bishop McGuckian said.

“Maybe we can learn something from them. There is an American can-do approach to things. They make things happen.

“They bring a can-do approach to the faith and the scriptures and to sharing the faith with other people. We have an awful lot to learn from them.

“I was so impressed with what I experienced.”

Included among the travelling party from the Raphia Diocese were Gaoth Dobhair-based curate Fr Brendan Ward, the recently-ordained Deacon Anthony Hartnett and young people Elaine Patton, Shauna Flynn, Connor Duncan.

SEEK25 will take place in Salt Lake City.