“The Steubenville Parish Mission had a huge impact on our parish community, way beyond the three days of the mission,” says Father Patrick Moses, who hosted a mission at Holy Family Catholic Church in Orange, California. “What words and music could not accomplish, eucharistic adoration each evening did, bringing the presence and healing of Christ to our people. We are still hearing of the miracles that happened one year later.”
Testimonies like this have multiplied since 2022 when Franciscan University launched Steubenville Parish Missions, a parish-based evangelization initiative. Unlike the traditional one-time-event-based parish mission, this new approach combines the powerful preaching, worship, and eucharistic adoration of the legendary Steubenville Conferences with long-term accompaniment, mentoring, and small-group formation.
The transformational impact of the parish mission on Holy Family Catholic Church led them to host a second mission. It also inspired Father Moses to bring it to his new parish, St. Timothy’s in Laguna Niguel, California, in April. After the evening of eucharistic adoration, parishioners expressed their thanks and shared moving testimonies with Father Moses.
One parishioner told him she had lost her husband three years ago and had been unable to recover emotionally. After experiencing the Lord personally in eucharistic adoration at the mission, she said she left the parish full of joy again.
Allowing Jesus in the Eucharist to touch and transform the hearts of the faithful is what the Steubenville Parish Missions are designed to do. Parish by parish, they are spiritually renewing participants and equipping them to evangelize others. Each mission begins with a six-month collaborative process to help the parish plan and promote the mission and to give spiritual formation to the parish’s core team. A renowned Catholic speaker, dynamic worship leader, and an on-site program director lead the three-night mission. After the mission, there is a long-term follow-up plan for small group formation, which equips parishioners to form new disciples.
“Most people have never seen the faith expressed in such a profound, personal way as they experience in a Steubenville Parish Mission.”
Deacon Dr. Bob Rice, professor of catechetics at Franciscan University and a popular worship leader at the Parish Missions, witnesses their impact up close.
“Our Steubenville Parish Missions allow us to bring Franciscan’s charism right to the heart of where people live—the parish,” he says. “Going to a conference or hearing an inspirational message online is one thing; but it is quite another to have that experience in the same pew where you regularly receive Communion every Sunday.”
Describing the six months of work that go into forming a parish’s staff and lay leaders, Deacon Rice explains, “The goal is not just to put on a ‘successful event.’ We want to do something that transforms the culture of a parish to be more empowered to do the ministry of evangelization and form disciples.”
Mark Joseph, Franciscan University’s vice president for Outreach and Evangelization, says their goal is urgent because, sadly, most parishes in the United States are shrinking, forcing dioceses to close and cluster many of them.
“What many are lacking is an enthused and engaged parishioner base,” says Joseph. “The Steubenville Parish Missions give those parishioners an experience of our Catholic faith that they’ve never had before.”
The Steubenville Parish Mission’s eucharistic procession at St. Timothy’s Parish. (photo by David Libertella)
Brian Hough, director of Operations for the Franciscan Center for Evangelization and Renewal, agrees.
“Most people have never seen the faith expressed in such a profound, personal way as they experience in a Steubenville Parish Mission,” he says. “They truly encounter the Lord in a personal way that transforms their hearts and lives.”
Martin Watjen, manager of Logistics and Parish Missions at the Franciscan Center for Evangelization and Renewal, says this personal encounter with Jesus Christ is facilitated in and through the Blessed Sacrament. Such a strong focus on the Eucharist makes the Parish Missions an ideal resource for parishes looking for ways to participate in the parish-focused Phase Two of the National Eucharistic Revival from June 2023 to July 2024, Watjen says.
The demand for the Steubenville Parish Missions continues to grow. There are eight parishes scheduled for missions in the 2023-2024 season. Of the 13 missions last season, three plan to host a second mission next year. The Parish Missions team has been busy meeting with dozens of interested pastors from across the country.
“This is not slowing down,” says Watjen. “It’s just getting started. Praise God! Something huge is happening here, unlike anything else in the U.S. today.”
Julie Noce, the Parish Mission coordinator at St. Lawrence O’Toole Parish in Brewster, New York, shares “a few miracles” that came out of her parish’s mission. Thanks to the mission, she says, one man stopped drinking and encountered Jesus; a woman came at a friend’s invitation, was surprised by God’s grace, and is now in the parish’s Alpha for Catholics program; and another woman, who had not been a churchgoer, was healed of anxiety during adoration and now serves on the parish’s Alpha team.
“The mission reminded us that God wants to heal his people, and we need to get out of the way, learn to trust him, and he will act,” wrote Noce in a thank-you letter to the Steubenville Parish Mission team. “Our community will be forever blessed by your work here.”
For more information about the Steubenville Parish Missions, visit here.
Father Patrick Moses leads eucharistic adoration during a Steubenville Parish Mission at St. Timothy’s Parish in Laguna Niguel, California. (photo by David Libertella)
