Franciscan LEAD is a five-day, Christ-centered, sacrament-soaked, prayer-fueled immersion in Catholic teachings on leadership, evangelization, and discipleship inspired by the life and witness of St. Francis of Assisi. The philosophy of Franciscan LEAD is to teach authentic, lasting leadership that flows from intimacy with Christ, so we first seek to engage youth in a personal relationship with Christ and then give them the tools to share their faith with others.

Franciscan LEAD is offered the week before a Steubenville Youth Conference. The training begins on the Monday evening before the conference and runs through Friday afternoon. On Friday afternoon, Franciscan LEAD participants join their youth groups when they arrive on site for the weekend conference. Therefore, each Franciscan LEAD applicant must be a registered conference participant with their group for the weekend.

Franciscan LEAD is for high-school aged youth who are passionate about their Catholic faith, active in their youth groups, and ready to step up to the next level of leadership through evangelization and discipleship training.

2023 application deadlines TBA.

Youth can apply for Franciscan LEAD for the summer after their freshman year in high school through the summer after their senior year in high school.

The program is led by a team of young adults who have a passion for ministry and desire to share what God has given them. Facilitators are trained by Franciscan University of Steubenville’s Conference Office. Many of the leaders are studying for futures in ministry or have graduated college and are actively working in full time ministry. Franciscan LEAD offers a 10-to-1 youth-to-leader ratio.

The application for Franciscan LEAD is a two-part online process – the youth application and the referral form. All youth applying for Franciscan LEAD will need an adult that knows them to fill out their referral form. The referral person needs to be a non-family member over the age of 21, such as their youth minister, priest, or any other adult that knows them well enough to answer questions about their faith life. All applications and referrals must be submitted through the online application.

No. One of the values of Franciscan LEAD is that participants use their newly acquired skills and insights to serve their fellow group members throughout the youth conference weekend. LEAD applicants are required to be registered at the same Steubenville Youth Conference as their groups and can only apply for LEAD if they are already registered for the conference.

After the application has been reviewed, the Steubenville Conference Office will send the youth and the referral an email detailing whether or not the youth is accepted. Payment for Franciscan LEAD will not be accepted until after the applicant has been accepted to the program. If the applicant is accepted, all travel and payment information will be sent via email to both the youth and referral.

The Franciscan LEAD program cost is variable, depending on the conference location. For exact Franciscan LEAD costs, please contact the regional conference registration team or email [email protected] (be sure to mention the conference location for which you are requesting the cost). The cost includes training in discipleship and evangelization, a resource book, official program t-shirt, and lodging and meals for the participant during the duration of the program. This cost does not include the registration fee for the conference weekend or transportation to and from the site. Full or partial payment options may be available through sponsorship by the parish youth group.

Once the participant is accepted to the program, they are responsible for arranging their own travel to the site on Monday and notifying the Steubenville Conference Office of their travel plans after acceptance. Please do not make travel arrangements until after the application is accepted. If a participant will be flying into the local airport on Monday, we will arrange pickup for the youth. We will not arrange transportation back to the airport on Sunday following the conference weekend.

Participants will meet with their groups at the conference site. Franciscan LEAD staff will provide transportation from the LEAD location to the conference site on Friday. Participants must join their groups by dinner on Friday, when their meal plans begin for the weekend conference.

Yes, however youth must go through the entire application process again, and priority will be given to new applicants. Previous participation in Franciscan LEAD does not guarantee acceptance.

Yes. Applicants do not need to have attended a Steubenville Youth Conference to apply for Franciscan LEAD.