What does it mean to be a young Catholic today?

College students wait for an outdoor Mass called “Mass on the Grass,” a once-a-year event in the fall at Butler University in Indianapolis. (Submitted photo)

By John Shaughnessy

After she graduated from college in the spring, Kendal Dedinsky struggled to find a new spiritual setting to continue developing the Catholic faith that means so much to her.

For four years at Washington University in St. Louis, the Newman Center there helped her grow in her faith in the company of other Catholics in her age group.

“My experience at the Newman Center was amazing,” Dedinsky says. “From the students to the Catholic priest, it gave me a real sense of purpose. One of the biggest things I found there was an understanding of why I’m Catholic, and what it means to be a Catholic woman in today’s world.”

She sought a similar spiritual experience when she returned to Indianapolis this summer to start her first year as a medical student in the Indiana University School of Medicine.

“One of the things I struggled with was not having a young adult community to come to, or where to look for one,” she says.

For now, she has found a spiritual home with the Catholic community at Butler University in Indianapolis. Yet, even though it has filled the void for her, it doesn’t completely meet her faith needs—a reality that a lot of people her age struggle with, she says.

“From the people I talk to, it’s tough. Entering the real world and leaving the nest of college, a lot of people struggled with some of the things [that] I struggled with. For me, and people I talk to, we want to find a place to go to Mass that has a vibrant spirit for worship, great music and a priest who is available. I’m looking for a place with young adult Bible study and Theology on Tap.

“The biggest thing would be to have a common place and a common worship—to have a weekly Mass downtown or any other place where we could meet with other young people to find a common bond, to have a worship that meets the needs of my age group.”

She longs for a spiritual home that will help her with the deep questions of her young life.

“I want to link the woman who I am becoming in God to where my professional career is going,” she says. “What does it mean to be Catholic in today’s world? How does my faith help me best in today’s world? With today’s issues and challenges, how do I love, how do I serve?” †