Press Releases
World Meeting of Families 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Leslie Prevish, 303-630-1893, [email protected]
FOCUS Joining Pope Francis during World Meeting of Families — Philadelphia 2015
CEO and Founder Curtis Martin presenting; FOCUS co-sponsoring Young Adult Lounge
DENVER, Colo., September 4, 2015 — The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) will join Pope Francis on his first-ever U.S. visit at the 2015 World Meeting of Families — Philadelphia 2015 (WMOF) on September 22 – 27. Saint Pope John Paul II started the tradition of the WMOF in 1994 to strengthen families across the globe. Through its evangelization on college campuses, FOCUS is forming the next generation of family leaders with strong Catholic values.
Curtis Martin, founder and CEO of FOCUS, will speak on Thursday, September 24 from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. EDT. The theme for his talk is “What’s New about the New Evangelization.” Martin spoke in June at the USCCB Conference where he provided examples of how FOCUS reaches out to young adults on campus during a pivotal time in their lives. Following his talk at WMOF, Martin, author of Made for More, Boys to Men, Family Matters and The Real Story, will be available for a book signing.
FOCUS is co-sponsoring the Young Adult Lounge throughout the WMOF conference and has several staff volunteering as bus captains to help pilgrims with transportation to the conference. In addition, FOCUS will host a booth in the Exhibition Marketplace where attendees can learn about the mission of FOCUS and purchase a variety of FOCUS gear — including new Pope Francis T-shirts, in preparation for the Holy Father’s papal visit on September 26 – 27.
Before the summit kicks off, Martin will speak at the Abbey Faith and Music Fest on September 19. AbbeyFest is a service of the Norbertine Community of Daylesford Abbey in Paoli, Pennsylvania. The event is designed to provide young people and people of all ages an inspiring experience of faith-filled music and prayer centered on the New Evangelization.
More information on WMOF events and speakers can be found at http://www.worldmeeting2015.org/.
About FOCUS
FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) is a national outreach founded in 1998 that invites college students into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church, inspiring and equipping them for a lifetime of Christ-centered evangelization, discipleship and friendships in which they lead others to do the same. During the 2015-2016 academic year, 478 missionaries will serve full-time on 113 college campuses in 35 states and Washington D.C. More than 17,000 FOCUS alumni are involved with parishes throughout the U.S. Within this number, 547 have made decisions to pursue Catholic religious vocations. By 2022, FOCUS expects to launch 75,000 alumni into America’s 17,000+ Catholic parishes. FOCUS missionaries are typically recent college graduates who devote two or more years of their post-collegiate lives to reach out to peers on campus. To learn more, visit us at www.focus.org.