Thousands of Catholic students, young adults, parishioners, clergy, and missionaries flooded the Greater Columbus Convention Center on the first of the year.
Their goal? To start the year in prayer.
Organized annually by FOCUS, an international Catholic outreach organization, the SEEK conference gathers thousands in three different cities simultaneously across the globe.
Along with Columbus, Denver and Fort Worth, Texas, will serve as host cities for the SEEK26 conference on Jan. 1-5.
With a 2026 theme of “To The Heights,” the conference invites attendees to focus on prayer, fellowship and inspiration alongside keynote speakers.
Dozens of Catholics from the Newman Center at the University of Delaware were included in the national group.
The five-day experience gathers thousands of Catholics together to focus and be transformed in their faith, according to the SEEK website.
Bishop Earl Fernandes, Bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, said he was proud of Columbus, along with its local businesses and communities, for hosting the event.
“SEEK26 will be a tremendous opportunity for our young people to encounter Christ with other young people from around the country. It is another sign of the commitment the Diocese of Columbus has to enhancing the faith of our college students, young adults and their families. Together, we will proclaim the joy of the Gospel,” Fernandes said.
Bishop Koenig in the Diocese of Wilmington joined dozens of Newman Center Catholics among those in the local group of those in prayer.
Over 21,000 attendees gathered at the SEEK25 conferences held in Salt Lake City, Washington, DC and Cologne, Germany, according to the FOCUS website.
Open registration ends Jan. 1, the first day of the conference.
Everyone attending any part of the conference must have a valid event pass, but day passes will be available online or onsite at the info booth, according to the SEEK website.
“Be open to what the Lord has in store for you,” Pope Leo XIV said in a video address to thousands of youth and young adults attending the SEEK 2026 conference.
The annual gathering — taking place Jan. 1-5 at event locations in Columbus, Ohio, Denver and Fort Worth, Texas — has drawn an estimated 26,000 participants for talks and workshops on encountering Christ, with the schedule including daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, the sacrament of reconciliation and fellowship.
Among the scheduled keynote speakers were Father Mike Schmitz, Matt Fradd, Chris Stefanick, Sister of Life Mary Grace and Sister Josephine Garrett, a sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
For 2026, conference organizer FOCUS — an international Catholic outreach ministering on more than 200 college campuses in the U.S., Mexico and Europe, as well as at some 20 parishes — selected the theme “To the Heights,” a favorite exhortation of the recently canonized St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, an avid mountaineer and patron of young adults.
As of midday Jan. 2, FOCUS reported that attendees numbered 16,115 in Columbus, 5,907 in Denver and 4,503 in Fort Worth.
In his pre-recorded video message to the SEEK attendees, which was posted along with a transcript to the Vatican website, Pope Leo appeared to echo St. Frassati’s sentiment, urging SEEK attendees to reflect on the call of the first two disciples of Jesus as detailed in John 1:35-51.
The pope said that Andrew and the other disciple — initially followers of John the Baptist — pursued Jesus, whose first recorded words in John’s Gospel were a question posed to the two: “What do you seek?”
“Jesus asks the disciples this question because he knows their hearts,” said Pope Leo. “They were restless — in a good way. They did not want to settle for the normal routine of life. They were open to God and were longing for meaning.”
And, said the pope, “today, Jesus directs this same question to each one of you.”
Pope Leo noted that conference attendees’ hearts may also be “restless, searching for meaning and fulfillment” as well as for “direction in your lives.”
