Retreat helps teens have fun
while learning about the priesthood
Pictured from left, Joseph Cole, 15, a member of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Bedford; Justin Wedgewood, 16, a member of St. Mary Parish in Mitchell; and seminarian Aaron Thomas join other teenage boys in a group cheer.
By Sean Gallagher
MORGAN COUNTY—For four days, the joyful shouts and laughter of 52 teenage boys echoed in the wooded hills and on the waterways of Bradford Woods in Morgan County.
At other times, the peaceful silence of the scenic setting invited the young participants at the second annual Bishop Bruté Days vocations retreat to listen attentively to presentations on the faith and enter more deeply into prayer during Mass and eucharistic adoration.
The retreat, designed for teenage boys open to the possibility that God is calling them to the priesthood, was held from June 13-16 at Indiana University’s outdoor center. It was sponsored by Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary at Marian College in Indianapolis.
Colin Robertson, a member of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Shelby County who will be a freshman next fall at Waldron High School, was one of 16 participants at the first retreat in 2006.
When he arrived this year, he was met by 51 other teenagers.
“Because there are more people here on the retreat, I’m getting what I feel to be a more full experience,” Colin said on the retreat’s second day. “I’m getting to interact with new people. I get to see what they do at their parish.”
Father Robert Robeson, the seminary’s rector, was pleased with the growth of the retreat’s numbers.
“It’s overwhelming with this many kids, but it’s been great,” he said. “Some of them really feel like they want to be priests. Others are here because they’re open to the possibility.”
Most of the teenagers at the retreat
came from 22 parishes across nine of the archdiocese’s 11 deaneries. Four came from three parishes in the Lafayette Diocese.
Father Robeson expects more young men to sign up for next year’s Bishop Bruté Days. As a result, he is considering plans to have two separate tracks for the retreat: one for junior high students and one for high school students.
Assisting Father Robeson in overseeing Bishop Bruté Days were three adult chaperones and 10 seminarians. Members of the Serra Club of Indianapolis, an organization that promotes vocations to the priesthood and religious life, provided and served meals.
Whether it was building human pyramids, going on scavenger hunts or canoeing in a nearby lake, seminarian Benjamin Syberg had fun with the boys on the retreat.
“It’s a blast, and the kids love it. It’s a great way to bond,” said Syberg, a member of Our Lady of the Greenwood Parish in Greenwood who just completed his first year at the college seminary.
Patrick Zabriskie joined Syberg in the fun. A member of St. Pius X Parish in the Indianapolis North Deanery, Patrick will be a sophomore next fall at Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis.
“I get a good amount of religious instruction,” he said. “But I also get a good amount of fun stuff. They compliment each other.”
Patrick is an example of a young person in the archdiocese who is benefiting from complementing vocations awareness programs.
His participation in Bishop Bruté Days followed a class on vocations for middle school students at St. Pius X School. Patrick is also enrolled at Bishop Chatard, where a student organization, SERV (Students Encouraging Religious Vocations), keeps the call to the priesthood and religious life fresh in fellow students’ minds.
“The first step in improving the priest deficit is being open to it, saying I’m open to being a priest and not rejecting it when you’re 15,” Patrick said. “I think the idea that none of us are really rejecting that idea is very good. It leaves a much stronger possibility for becoming a priest than if you reject the idea when you’re a little kid.”
Recently ordained Father Rick Nagel told the teenagers how, when he was their age, he was incredulous when a priest said he had the gifts for the priesthood. He went on to say that God eventually led him to recognize his call and embrace it with joy.
On July 3, Father Nagel will begin his ministry as associate pastor of Our Lady of the Greenwood Parish. He will also become the archdiocese’s associate vocations director.
It was with an eye toward that ministry that he commented enthusiastically on the success of Bishop Bruté Days.
“It reminds me of Jeremiah 29:11: ‘I will give you a future full of hope,’ ” Father Nagel said. “And there they sat.
“You can just see that God has graced us once again in this archdiocese. I think the prayers of the people are bringing forth those vocations.”
Father Nagel was one of nine diocesan priests who assisted with the retreat by giving presentations on the faith, celebrating Mass, hearing confessions or leading adoration and Benediction services.
Another was Father Michael Fritsch, pastor of St. John the Apostle Parish in Bloomington.
“It’s wonderful. It’s invigorating,” he said of the retreat. “It’s like a recharge because you see [the boys’] energy and their zeal.”
Colin Robertson showed that energy as he spoke about future Bishop Bruté Days.
“If there are any boys age 13 to 18 that have not been here, I would encourage them to come because this retreat is just plain awesome!”
(For more information on the archdiocese’s Bishop Simon Brute College Seminary, log on to www.archindy.org/bsb.)†
