Youth respond to call to deepen their faith at diocesan Search retreat in diocese of Saskatoon

By Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News

For a group of 35 teen Catholics, this Lenten season began with an intense spiritual experience as another live-in Search retreat was held in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon.

Search participants were once again immersed in a weekend experience of being loved by God and the community — through peer presentations, Eucharistic adoration, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, praise and worship, and many surprises along the way organized, coordinated and presented Feb. 20-22, 2026 by a support team of some 65-plus volunteers, including many former “Searchers.”

The Search experience includes setting aside technology and retreating into a space focused on faith and prayer, before the high school students are sent forward with a challenge to continue their growing spiritual maturity by in turn sharing their faith with others.

“The whole focus has been to help these young people know that they are a beloved child of God; beloved by Jesus,” leaders told parents before the closing Mass. “We as parents instill in our kids our faith, but at some point they have to make that faith their own.”

The transformation from Friday night to Sunday afternoon is evident, the leaders added, noting that parent support and encouragement would help in practical follow-up after the spiritual high of the “weekend’s mountaintop experience.”

Bishop Mark Hagemoen presided at Mass with the high school participants on the Saturday of the weekend retreat. Fr. Gerard Cooper, pastor of the Cathedral of the Holy Family, celebrated the closing Mass on the Sunday – the First Sunday of Lent Feb. 22, with its Gospel account of Jesus overcoming temptations in the desert.

Before the closing Mass, participants came forward to accept a lit candle signifying their acceptance of the call to share the light of Christ in the world, and received the cross of Christ from a member of the support team.

Messages from parishes sent to the team after the retreat included words of thanks for the experience. One parent wrote that their daughter “returned home full of joy, inspiration, and strengthened faith. I deeply appreciate the care, support, prayers, kindness, and encouragement she experienced throughout the retreat. The time spent with other young people has had a meaningful impact on her spiritual journey, and I am truly grateful for the dedication of everyone involved in making this possible.”

The next Search retreat in the diocese of Saskatoon is scheduled for November 2026. Watch for more information on the website: saskatoonsearch.ca.

Photos:

Volunteers, presenters, former searchers, and team leaders joined the February 2026 participants for a large group photo at the conclusion of the diocesan Search retreat Feb. 22. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

Search youth retreat participants joined with family embers and the large Search support team for a final Mass Feb. 22 at E.D. Feehan Catholic High School in Saskatoon. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

Fr. Gerard Cooper, pastor of the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Saskatoon presided at the closing Mass for the Search youth retreat. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

(Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

Youth were presented with a lit candle symbolizing the light of Christ in a ceremony before the start of the closing Mass on the First Sunday of Lent. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)