At Camp Gray and parishes around the Diocese of Madison, there have been high school nights, middle school hype nights, school retreats, and Confirmation retreats all hosted by the Xavier Mission Team. This begs the question, “What is the Xavier Mission Team?”
Being a member myself, I can provide an answer.
About the team
The Xavier Mission Team, named after St. Francis Xavier, who did amazing missionary work in Asia, is a brand-new evangelization initiative of the Diocese of Madison for youth.
Six young adults have been given nine months to dedicate themselves to the teens of the diocese guiding them through witness and teaching the beautiful truths of our Catholic faith. They build relationships both with the teens and provide an environment for the teens to build relationships with each other.
The Xavier Mission Team has been traveling across the diocese for High School Formation Nights. These nights are dedicated to post-Confirmation high schoolers who are looking for an evening of prayer, fun, and hopefully to learn a little something too.
The nights are being hosted every first and third Sunday and Wednesday along with every second and fourth Monday until May.
Every high school night includes a content portion with topics ranging from prayer to Catholic social teaching.
The team, along with all the wonderful, amazing, stupendous staff at Camp Gray, have been hosting Confirmation retreats since November.
We have also been hosting middle school hype nights at various locations in the diocese. The first one was in December.
Living in community
Outside of youth ministry, the team lives in community, taking time together and separately to study various aspects of our Catholic faith and grow in personal formation, while also taking time for fun too.
The team works out of various offices within the diocese once a week, helping with various projects that occur there.
All of this is done while continuous planning and prepping work is being done. Whew! Is there anything my teammates can’t do?
Writing out everything we have been doing so far, these past five months can make anyone ask “But do they sleep!?”
Honestly, though, we have been blessed to work with some fantastic people who help keep our mission running smoothly.
I could list all by name but for now, I will just thank the entire Diocese of Madison offices.
The experience
To show a small glimpse of what we do, I thought I would share a story from one of our Confirmation retreats.
My teammate Catherine and I led a small group together during one of the retreats.
Our group was quiet — so what happened on the evening before their last day with us came as a surprise.
We explained to them that before Mass began that they would have the opportunity to go to Confession.
We asked them if they had any questions. To which we were bombarded with some deep questions about the Sacrament of Confession.
But what happened later in the evening was even more exciting. One of our small group members went to Confession that night after not having gone in three years.
Needless to say, Catherine and my excitement was only surpassed by the Lord’s.
One of the beautiful aspects of this mission is being able to see how the Lord works in people. It truly is a gift to be able to witness such tender and precious moments.
His works in the teens are not only viewed by us. Eventually, they will be seen by their friends, families, and ultimately our Church as a whole.
This may bring us back to another question. Why? Why a mission team and why now?
Being a member, and native of the Diocese of Madison, perhaps I can answer this question.
Our diocese has some fantastic programs during the summer for the youth. But during the school year, and particularly after Confirmation, there is an opportunity being missed to further evangelize and serve the youth.
The Xavier Mission Team inspires to help seize this opportunity to serve the youth, especially after Confirmation, and to present a radical but not particularly new idea to the youth of this diocese, that a life formed and rooted in Christ and His Church can be, and will be, a life lived.
Molly Schoepp is a member of the Xavier Mission Team for the Diocese of Madison and a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.