On Tuesday, February 3, I had the pleasure of being invited to La Halte de La Visitation to share some thoughts on a question that weighs on the hearts of many parents, parish ministry leaders and Christian communities: how do we understand and truly reach younger generations today?

The invitation formed part of Les Mardis de la Halte, an ongoing series of dialogue and formation rooted in a deeply missionary vision. Housed in a residence dating back to 1883—once the sacristan’s home and, since 2024, transformed into a place of welcome, listening and fellowship—La Halte de La Visitation offers a tangible witness to a Church committed to outreach. Three afternoons a week, parishioner-missionaries offer what is often most scarce: time, attentive listening and a freely given presence, in a city where many are quietly “left isolated in their solitude.”

On Tuesday evenings, La Halte also becomes a space for reflection, conversation and formation—an opportunity to guide reflection and conscience, seek the truth together and discern how best to live out our Christian faith. At the start of 2026, concern for young people shaped much of the discussion. A recurring question surfaced: how can we help young adults grow in the faith at a time when many parents feel ill-equipped and church attendance declines, even as young people continue to express a genuine search for meaning?

Who Are Young People Today?: The Many Faces of Youth

The evening explored several key dimensions of contemporary youth, bringing into focus the diversity of their circumstances and journeys. We duscussed the multiple roles they carry in society and within their families, their relationship to time—often marked by acceleration and fragmentation—and the criteria by which they discern, shaped by lived experience, meaningful relationships and a deep desire for authenticity.

Particular attention was given to the diversity of generations present within our parishes, each formed by its own context, values and relationship to faith.

I also emphasized the importance of varied pastoral approaches, adapted to help meet young people where they truly are, and reminded the group that the Church’s mission belongs to them as well. As the Quebec bishops note in Proposer la foi aux jeunes, we are called today to find new ways to encourage participation and engagement.

The audience, truly multigenerational, made for rich and sincere exchanges. The questions were genuine, the dialogue respectful, and there was a palpable desire to better understand young people and build bridges across generations.

I left the evening with profound gratitude: for the invitation, for the trust placed in me, and for the space created for genuine listening and dialogue. Above all, I left encouraged by the hope found in places where a culture of encounter allows the Church to continue learning, to be challenged, and to walk alongside a new generation.

For it is often in these simple, authentic settings that the Spirit is already at work before us.

Isabel Correa
Director, Evangelization and Christian Life and 
Mission Jeunesse Youth Ministry
Archdiocese of Montreal