BURIEN – Some 460 middle school students and chaperones from 31 parishes came to Kennedy Catholic High School March 2 for “Revival,” a daylong retreat focused on helping encounter Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist.

The turnout was nearly double that of last year, according to Kimberly Abadir, director of the archdiocese’s Youth Ministry Services, which sponsored the event.

Students heard from a variety of speakers, including Father Sylvester Chanda, parochial vicar at St. Anthony Parish in Renton. He got the crowd hyped up but also thoughtful, by asking them what “revival” means, and he urged them to contemplate the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

“He didn’t say, ‘This is like my body.’ He said, ‘This is my body,’” Father Chanda pointed out.

“It was mind-blowing” 

In the morning keynote address, students were rapt as they heard the conversion story of Michelle Heitzmann, youth minister at St. Michael Parish in Olympia. In her talk, “Wound Care: The One True Healer,” Heitzmann recounted her crisis of faith and her experience of conversion during Eucharistic adoration.

“Faith is not something we have; faith is given to us,” she told the gathering. “Faith is a personal invitation to follow him.”

Heitzmann’s story had an impact on Geraldine Donovan, a student from St. Peter Parish in Seattle.

“It was interesting to see the perspective of someone who went away from God,” Donovan said.

Students spent time in Eucharistic Adoration during the archdiocese’s Middle School Encounter March 2 at Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien. (Photo: Amanda Zilke)

After reflection time and lunch, students broke into groups by grade to hear more talks. Sixth graders heard about holiness in middle school from Cathleen Ito, youth minister at Holy Family Parish in Kirkland. For eighth graders, it was “5 Rules All High Schoolers Should Break,” presented by Samuel Carlson, a theology teacher at Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle.

Eucharistic miracles was the topic for seventh graders. The presentation by Amy Baumgardner, youth minister at St. Louise Parish in Bellevue, included a Eucharistic miracle in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1996 when Pope Francis was the archbishop.

“It was mind-blowing,” said seventh grader Ezekiel Ricardo, a member of Holy Spirit Parish in Kent. “I didn’t know that happened.”

Sacrifice of the lamb

In his afternoon keynote, Carlson spoke about “Eucharist: The Ultimate Sacrifice,” explaining how the sacrifice of the lamb during Passover prefigured the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross — a sacrifice meant “to heal and transform,” Carlson said.

Students also participated in activities, including a scavenger hunt, time in adoration and a service project with Deacon Dennis Kelly, executive director of the MercyWatch Everett street ministry, writing letters to go in care packages for unhoused people.

Near the end of the day, students were invited to speak during the open mic time. Of the 38 students who shared their thoughts about the day, the majority said the time spent in adoration had the most impact on them.

Bishop Eusebio Elizondo speaks to students and chaperones during the concluding Mass at the archdiocese’s Middle School Encounter March 2 at Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien. (Photo: Jocelyn Arida)

To conclude the event, Bishop Eusebio Elizondo presided at Mass, concelebrated by Father Justin Ryan, vocations director for the archdiocese. Music was provided by Jaeden Luke, a former contestant on “The Voice” TV show and a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Bothell. The gift bearers and altar servers were members of the new Archdiocesan Youth Council, made up of high school students.

Bishop Elizondo told the students that the church doesn’t just need numbers of young people, “we need disciples … disciples with smiles on their faces.”

Jocelyn Arida, youth minister at Holy Family Parish in Auburn, said she was impressed by the large turnout and praised the event’s programming.

“It’s not only what the kids get out of it, but the adults,” said Arida, who has worked in youth ministry since 2005. “You get a lot out of what they share.”