The Annual Meeting provides Directors of Youth, Campus, and Young Adult Ministries and their staff an opportunity for professional development, retreat, and uplifting fellowship. Typically occurring as a three-day overnight gathering at a retreat center, the Annual Meeting occurs in mid-spring. The fee to attend is $200. Youth Ministry Certificate training sessions are also offered at the Annual Meeting.
Annual Meeting 2026 will be held at Loyola on the Potomac in Faulkner, Maryland, May 12-14, 2026.
Father Columba Jordan, C.F.R., previously announced as the retreat director, will no longer be able to join us due to an unforeseen circumstance.
We are happy to announce that Dr. James Pauley will be our retreat director. He is a Professor of Theology and Catechetics at Franciscan University. He is the author of two books focused on the renewal of catechesis: An Evangelizing Catechesis: Teaching from Your Encounter with Christ (Our Sunday Visitor, 2020) and Liturgical Catechesis in the 21st Century: A School of Discipleship (Liturgy Training Publications, 2017). In 2014, Dr. Pauley was appointed editor of The Catechetical Review, Franciscan University’s journal dedicated to catechesis and evangelization. Dr. Pauley began working as a parish catechetical leader in 1989 and has served professionally in parish, diocesan, and university catechetical formation for more than thirty years. Having received his Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Liturgical Institute at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in 2014, he enjoys serving as a frequent speaker in dioceses and parishes nationwide on a variety of topics related to evangelization, catechesis, and the transformative sacramental encounter. Dr. Pauley is married to his wife Katrina, and they are blessed with three daughters.
Registration is now open and will close on Friday, April 24, 2026. For information on how to register, please contact Clarissa Maciel or call (703) 841-2559.
