MISSION STATEMENT:

The Abbey Youth Festival is an apostolic service of Saint Joseph Abbey and Seminary College. It is designed to provide young people with an opportunity to experience a day of prayer and faith formation with an exposure to the Benedictine tradition. Its focus is evangelization and vocational discernment by means of Liturgy, prayer, worship, music and education appropriate for Catholic young people.

WHAT IT IS:

Abbey Fest is a day like no other. It is an outdoor, day long, Catholic Youth Festival at St. Joseph Abbey near Covington, Louisiana. Throughout the day, there are speakers and Catholic influencers giving talks and testimony. It is a day where religious vocation is on full display with priests and religious, novices and seminarians present to engage and throw the ball around. All day, there is the opportunity for confession or time with the Lord either in the on-site chapel or while on tour at the Abbey Church. Music is a big part of this festival. There is a house band offering praise and worship throughout the day and there’s always the ‘headline’ band after dinner every year that rocks the AYF field! And finally, the liturgical rhythm of the Church is that which Abbey Youth Festival is centered—that rhythm of communal prayer that unites us a Christian body and the monastic community that hosts this event. In the morning there is morning prayer. In the afternoon, there is Holy Mass often celebrated by our local Archbishop and concelebrated by a large number of priests from around the gulf south area. In the evening, we close Abbey Fest with a congregational candle lit hour of benediction and adoration, marked by full orchestral and choral talent—Christ fully present, ever ancient and ever new.

SOME HISTORY:

Abbey Youth Fest began in 2001 under the leadership of Dr. Chris Baglow (Director of Apostolic Formation at the time) and a dedicated seminarian task force. For 19 years, AYF became the largest event in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, drawing nearly 250 different groups from all across the south and surpassing 4500 participants for many years. In 2016 Abbey Fest was canceled in the days leading up to the event due to a forecast of heavy continuing rain. In fact, that Friday, St. Joseph Abbey experienced a catastrophic flood that decimated the Abbey property. In the years following, Abbey Fest continued to see a streak of poor weather, and in 2020 with the rise of Covid-19 on the rise, Abbey Youth Fest was canceled. It laid dormant for the last six years—until now. In 2027 under the theme ‘Made New - Of Water and Spirit’, Abbey Youth Fest is poised to make a BIG come back. Join us for a day of fun, music, worship, and fellowship you won’t want to miss!

WHERE IT IS:

Abbey Youth Fest is held each year on the festival field at St. Joseph Abbey and Seminary College. Saint Joseph Abbey is a Benedictine community of monks located on 1,100 acres of beautiful pine forests in Saint Benedict, Louisiana near Covington. Over the past century, the Abbey has been an abiding spiritual presence in the Gulf South and has left an indelible mark on local and regional history. The Abbey has educated many of the region's civic and religious leaders, and it has founded and staffed numerous parishes in the New Orleans and Northshore areas. It has also had a significant impact on area culture by sponsoring and promoting programs in both liturgical and secular arts. And finally, Saint Joseph Abbey’s monks have remained faithful to prayer, work, and the monastic way of life.

“Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may Christ bring us all together to everlasting life.”

- Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 72