By Christina Gray
It is not the foregone conclusion it once was that young people will follow in the faith tradition in which they were raised. Results of a 2025 Pew Research Center “Religious Landscape Study” revealed that more than one-third of U.S. adults said they have moved on from the religion they were raised in. The good news within the study, though, is that a majority (56%) still identify with their childhood faith tradition.
Helping bind young Catholics to their faith for life in an increasingly secular society is more important and more challenging than ever, according to the Youth and Young Adult Ministries coordinator for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
“Young Catholics should never feel like they ‘aged out’ of the Church if we’ve done our job well of creating a collaborative, welcoming community where everyone is supported and included,” Remee Vargas told Catholic San Francisco. “They simply continue their journey with Christ into the next place where they can encounter Him more deeply.”
Vargas is in her second year in a role where the goal is nothing less than deepening the faith.
“As the coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministries, I work with all the ministries and leaders who walk with young people throughout their entire faith journey,” she said. The age range of her interest spans from 13 to 39 years old.
Vargas’ job is, in essence, helping create opportunities within individual parishes as well as at the archdiocesan level for young people to become “the person God meant them to be” through the Catholic Church.
A young man named Anthony whose family belongs to a local parish summed this up in a video made for the 2026 Archdiocesan Annual Appeal.
“It has really been a fun experience to be around other young people with different values and virtues that I share with them, and just celebrate my faith with other people my age,” he said. “It has really helped me grow as a person and as a Christian.”
Contributions to the AAA help support Vargas and the Youth and Young Adult Ministries office.
Last November, Anthony participated along with more than 200 other young people from around the Archdiocese and Northern California in Youth Day @ SFARCH in San Mateo, where young people encountered and grew in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Through inspirational talks, music, games and prayer, young people experienced the Holy Spirit and connected to the larger church. Here, they felt Jesus calling them to be part of something bigger – the universal church!
“Many of the kids say it is very important to them to see other young people unapologetically loving God and sharing the testimony of their faith,” Vargas said.
Being a resource to parish-based youth and young adult groups as they form and grow is also a large part of her role.
“I see myself as a guide walking with them on their journey, helping them when and where they need it,” she said. She supports parish leaders, including pastors, who might be considering a new or revitalized youth or young adult ministry in their parish.
Teens and young adults are in different stages of life, she said, with different experiences, responsibilities and needs. Each parish also has a different set of demographics and resources at their disposal.
“The goal is to meet young people wherever they are and support them as they explore their faith,” she said. “How it gets done at every parish is different, but the goal is the same.”
Ignacio Palma Vasquez, a parishioner of Our Lady of the Pillar Parish in Half Moon Bay, formed “Esperanza Juvenil,” a youth group for teens aged 13-17, last fall with the support of Vargas and pastor Father Jose Corral. Vasquez said the vision is to create an environment where youths and young adults can “grow in their faith, connect with peers and serve our community.”
“Many of our young people think that they are somehow finished after they are confirmed,” he said. “We want them to know that they are just beginning.”
The group meets weekly and includes Bible study and organizing and training the group to participate personally in the celebration of the Mass. Members do readings, for example, pass the basket, participate in community service projects and make themselves available to help out at parish and community events.
“We aim to build strong relationships, share our faith and draw more adolescents into our church family,” Vasquez wrote in a letter to the pastor. The ministry will be formally installed with a parish ceremony in February, a step that Vasquez said he hopes will elevate the visibility of youth and their place within the parish.
At St. Patrick’s Parish in Larkspur, a new high school ministry called “The Upper Room” is taking shape. The Upper Room seeks to accompany teens in their faith journey through encounter, formation and mission, according to Francesca Previtali, a local Catholic educator for 13 years and parish director of religious education.
“The ministry is rooted in the biblical Upper Room where Jesus gave disciples the Eucharist and where the Church was born at Pentecost,” said Previtali. She leads its leadership team along with a parent of teens and a parishioner who was a youth minister at his former parish in New York. It meets most Thursday nights.
Newly confirmed eighth graders are invited to the ministry as they enter high school. Previtali said that a challenge for the group is not a lack of interest; it’s that teens today are overbooked.
“Many show interest but are not free when we have meeting or events,” she said.
Vargas emphasized that youth and young adults need space within a parish that is truly their own, “where their voice matters, where they feel ownership and where they have purpose.” But they are not meant to be silos. Creating intentional disciples of young people requires the collective intention of the entire faith community.
“Young people should be integrated into the life of the parish so they can find their place within the larger Church,” she said. A thriving youth or young adult ministry, she said, is no substitute for not being seen as a valuable part of the Church.
“A connected parish, one that truly lives the heart of Jesus, is a parish where young people will feel welcome, seen and find purpose,” said Vargas. “That is how young people will stay connected to their faith, the Church and to God.”
Visit sfarch.org/ministries/youth-ministry to learn more about the Youth and Young Adult Ministry.
Christina Gray is the lead writer for Catholic San Francisco.
Photo: Mary Powers
