Jan 2, 2026 / 20:00 pm (CNA).

Bishop Michael Olson, whose diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, is hosting the SEEK 2026 conference, said he is praying for unity in Christ.

Olson said he has observed that young people attending the conference have “a real openness to God’s call. They very much want to make a difference for Christ” with their lives.

“There’s a sense of communion that the Church has that postmodern reality undercuts. Young people, however, want to be disciples of the Lord. They want to belong, but they want to belong in the way he calls them to belong.”

Regarding what is moving him spiritually right now, he said in an interview that “the heart of my prayer is the prayer of Jesus: That all may be one, as he and the father are one.”

He said he is praying that “we all find communion and unity in Christ, as his Church, which is his intention.”

“With all differences that we’re tempted to be divided over, especially in the sacraments and the liturgy,” he said he prays to help foster a sense of communion among people within the Church.

Immigration

About immigration, a prominent issue in Texas, Olson said that along with the majority of the U.S. bishops, he affirms the rule of law and the integrity of borders, “because without that, there is no sense of peace; there’s chaos and lawlessness and the most vulnerable suffer.”

He said we all have to stop “defining ourselves by partisan ideologies, which feels like the dominant ‘religion’ in the U.S., for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.”

“We have a responsibility to lend comfort [to immigrants] and to provide security. As an international issue and as a nation, we must help other nations to ensure their borders,” he continued.

“Some of the challenges for the leadership of other nations are gangs. The most vulnerable are paying the price, terrified by the tyranny of the gangs,” he said.

“We have to look at ourselves and say, how have we promoted [those challenges] in areas of foreign policy? We’re reaping what we’ve sown,” Olson said.

“What we faced before with abortion and the death penalty, we now face with immigration: The dignity of the human person must be focused on, as well as the primacy of family life as the basis of society,” he said.

Parish and school security

Asked about how security at parishes and Catholic schools is handled in his diocese following recent violence at Catholic schools, he said for the past seven years, the diocese has employed the Guardian ministry, which involves fully vetted, trained, and armed parishioners in partnership with the police.

Those in the ministry are “proactive in cultivating a spirit and practice of deescalation, in the spirit of discipleship with Christ, in order to protect the vulnerable and weak.”

Olson said at the rest of the SEEK conference he plans to spend time with the young people, giving a talk to the seminarians on prayer and St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

Jan 2, 2026 / 19:25 pm (CNA).

A raucous rock concert by a priest, a special video message from Pope Leo XIV, and prayers for the repose of the soul of the 5-year-old son of a Catholic social media influencer were all part of the opening night of SEEK 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Some 26,000 attendees have gathered through Jan. 5 in Columbus, Ohio; Denver; and Fort Worth for the SEEK 2026 conference organized by FOCUS.

More than 4,500 conference attendees participated in the opening Mass in Fort Worth on the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, concelebrated by Bishop Michael Sis of the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas, along with three of his brother bishops, including Bishop Michael Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth.

Dozens of priests also attended the Mass and helped distribute Communion to the thousands of attendees.

In his homily, in which he encouraged the thousands of young people to go away from the conference praising God for what they “have heard and seen here, like the shepherds of Bethlehem,” Sis told his listeners: “You’re not useless. You’re not insignificant. You are a beautiful child of God. As a child of God, you can influence your surroundings. You can connect with your generation in ways that others cannot. You are just getting started as a missionary disciple.”

An intention during the Prayers of the Faithful was for the repose of the soul of young Micah Kim, the son of Catholic social media influencer Paul Kim. The boy passed away on Dec. 31, 2025, after more than a week on life support following a rare medical emergency brought on by a severe case of the flu.

After the Mass, which was also attended by dozens of priests from all over the country and projected on several enormous screens throughout the Texas ballroom at the Gaylord Convention Center, attendees were treated to a special video message from Pope Leo, who asked: “Dear young people, what do you seek? Why are you here at this conference? Perhaps your hearts are also restless, searching for meaning and fulfillment and direction for your lives.”

The answer is found in the person of Jesus Christ, Leo said.

The evening’s first speaker was Father David Michael Moses, who entered college at age 14, was ordained a priest in 2019 at age 25, and has more than 2 million followers across his various social media platforms.

He walked on stage with a guitar and sang a song he wrote about funny, true stories that happened to him as a priest. Each time he crooned the refrain “Take it from me, I had to learn, if you become a priest, you’re gonna get burned,” the crowd erupted in laughter.

In his talk, Moses echoed Pope Leo’s words, asking attendees: “What are you searching for?”

He continued: “The purpose that you’re searching for is in the things that you are avoiding. What are you avoiding? So many of our unhealthy habits are the avoidance of something, not being willing to face something.”

At the end of his talk, he encouraged attendees to run up to and gather in front of the stage as he belted out a rock song about living a Christian life. He took a selfie from the stage with the young people cheering behind him and ended his performance by doing “the worm” dance on the stage as the crowd went wild.

Sister Miriam James Heidland, SOLT, of the podcast “Abiding Together,” gave the second keynote address. In a soft voice, she began by telling attendees she had been “carrying you in my heart for a while.”

She said: “We don’t just need forgiveness from God. We need union with God. The word ‘union’ expands our hearts and makes our hearts ache because we know that’s what we are made for.”

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