Portraits of Faith

Young Adult Catholics Share Their Stories

What is it like to be an active and engaged young adult Catholic today? Our Community Health Center community has put together this collection of 15 essays to offer a series of portraits of this vibrant demographic. The people you will meet in this book are single, engaged, married or on the way to ordination, but all have one thing in common: they have a strong desire for a deeper relationship with God.

Their lives may be filled with surprises and disappointments along the way, but support from friends, family and the broader community helps them to stay strong in their faith. Journey with these young adults as they reveal their hunger for God, their hope for the world, and their love for others.

Although we may grow discouraged by the frequent reports of declining numbers in church attendance across Canada, Portraits of Faith offers to us a contrasting view from young Canadian Catholics who embrace the faith and are living it today. Through inspiring stories, we discover what draws young adults to the Church and what faith leaders can do to engage and inspire young adult Catholics. Portraits of Faith is a must-have book for all those yearning to be renewed in their own faith.

About the Editors

Sr. Mechtilde O'Mara, CSJ, serves as the Ministry Director for Community Health Center, a young adult Catholic ministry sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph in Paris. She collected and edited these various essays from among the many young adults active in Community Health Center.

Working with Community Health Center for more than a decade, Vanessa Nicholas-Schmidt (M.Div.), Program Director, creatively responds to the faith needs of her peers. She rejoices in her call to ministry with young adults and feels equally blessed by her vocation to marriage and parenthood.