Toronto Catholics launch first conference for young professionals

The Young Professional Catholics of Toronto (YPCT), a growing lay association of the Archdiocese of Toronto, will host its first conference on Sept. 26 at the Canada Event Centre in the greater Toronto area.

According to its website, ARISE is a full-day conference built for young professionals and Catholics from all walks of life called to be a “light and witness in their workplaces and society.”

The conference will include keynote speakers, breakout sessions, Mass, benediction, and networking opportunities. Some of the speakers set to take the stage include Sister Marie Veritas of the Sisters of Life; Father Charbel Bousamra, a Maronite priest and founder of Assumption Academy in Canada; and Father Marcin Serwin, a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate and director of Oblate Youth Canada, among others.

YPCT brings together ambitious individuals navigating careers and personal growth, all while remaining rooted in shared Catholic values. Through networking events, service initiatives, and faith-centered gatherings, the group offers more than just social connection — it provides purpose and belonging as it redefines how Catholic identity can thrive among the next generation of leaders.

The group’s vice president, Kathleen Muggeridge, and Eva Bracho, one of the group’s event directors, told EWTN News in an interview that the inspiration for the conference came from a passage from the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus tells the rich young man to arise, sell his possessions, and follow him.

“Obviously not everyone can literally sell everything that they have and follow him and become like a monk or be out on the streets to serve the poor, but in their own vocational path — whether itʼs to be a father or mother of many children and to work and contribute to society — in whatever state of their life that theyʼre in, they need to arise and go and follow Our Lord,” Muggeridge said.

Bracho added that the theme of “arise” is also a “call from from spiritual slumber to intentional action. Especially, I think, in our society now, in our generation as well, itʼs really that call to live our faith fully in the world and tend to our individual God-given missions whatever that is and to become the person that God has created us to be.”

YPCT is expecting 600 to 800 attendees and while the conference is open to all Catholics, Bracho emphasized that what sets this conference apart is “that mission focus in your life. A lot of us are called to marriage and professional life. So what does that look like from a professional standpoint, which I think has not really been touched before.”

She added that she hopes attendees will leave the conference with “a sense of renewal.”

“So really remembering who God created each person to be in our identity as daughters and sons and then coming out of that and saying, ‘OK, what am I here for? What is my mission?’ And feeling the renewal of ‘Iʼm going to go forth in whatever my circumstances, my job, my life, my family, whatever that is, and be intentional about the life that Iʼm living and have that call to holiness but also have that call of like pursuing with purpose what I feel like my mission is in this life,’” Bracho said.

Muggeridge added: “The conference will be a reminder to people that Godʼs grace is in the here and now; itʼs right now, and every single moment of life that God wills us to be here is a moment where we can turn it all around. I really believe that it only takes a little bit of goodness on our part for God to do huge things.”