French priest: 'Many are deeply searching; we must serve this faith'
Fr. Emmanuel Ecker says many young people in France are searching deeply for meaning and are turning toward Christ and faith. The Parish of Notre Dame of the Assumption in Metz, which serves students and young professionals, draws many young people to Sunday Mass. Ecker describes their interest as a desire for a demanding faith, which must be lived and proclaimed through charity, love, and mercy. He says the Church should welcome young people, pray for them, and support them as they journey toward baptism.
2 days ago
A lively student parish in Metz is offering a local example of young people’s renewed interest in faith amid France’s secularization and declining Church numbers, according to its priest, Father Emmanuel Ecker. He says many young people are seeking meaning and a demanding commitment to Christ, and that the Church should support them through welcome, prayer, charity and mercy.
Notre Dame of the Assumption in central Metz serves students, young professionals and the wider community. At a Sunday evening Mass before Pope Leo XIV’s arrival in the city, the church was full, with many young people in attendance.
Ecker, who helps form seminarians and ministers to the parish, described its young members as rooted in the love of God and the search for Christ. He sees their engagement as part of a broader movement in France, while attributing the parish’s growth and energy to the work of God and the Holy Spirit.
Ecker characterized young people’s interest as a “very deep searching” for something greater. He said they are drawn not to a superficial form of belief but to a challenging path of faith, and cited a parish weekend focused on St. Pier Giorgio Frassati as one example of that engagement.
He said priests and the Church should help young people live this demanding faith through love, charity and mercy. Ecker also stressed that truth should be spoken with charity, particularly because some young people can express their convictions harshly.
Ecker identified three elements in supporting young people who publicly express a desire to follow Christ toward baptism: the Church’s welcome, prayer for them, and prayer for God’s grace to sustain them on the path. He described that grace as God’s help and support as they continue toward baptism.
The Church’s mission to accompany young people seeking faith and meaning
The Church accompanies young people not by treating them as a problem to solve or an audience to manage, but by walking with them as Christ walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. He first listened to their story, then helped them understand it in the light of Scripture, and finally sent them back into the world as witnesses. This pattern—listen, teach, send—offers a practical shape for the Church’s mission today.
Young people seeking faith and meaning may bring questions, doubts, hopes, disappointments, or experiences that are still difficult to express. The Church’s first response should be patient, attentive listening—not a quick correction or a ready-made program. Listening with compassion helps build trust and can help a young person recognize where God is already at work in their life.
This listening must be genuine. Pope Francis has cautioned against listening merely as a formality: young people should be included in dialogue, planning, and decisions, and treated as active members of the Church. Each person’s journey is distinct, so accompaniment should be personal rather than standardized.
Listening does not mean leaving young people alone to invent meaning for themselves. The Church accompanies them by proclaiming Jesus Christ and helping them interpret their lives through the Gospel. The Emmaus story shows this movement: Jesus listens to the disciples, opens the Scriptures to them, and is recognized in the breaking of the bread.
A key part of this journey is discernment: learning to recognize God’s call and respond freely. Young people benefit from wise guides who help them consider their vocation and move through uncertainty without taking away their freedom. Discernment is both personal and shared with the community of faith, and it seeks truth rather than simply confirming whatever one already prefers.
Accompaniment often means showing up consistently through ordinary transitions and hardships. At times, simply being present without judgment or an immediate attempt to “fix” things is itself a meaningful form of care. Families have a foundational role, while parishes, schools, mentors, and other members of the Church can extend that support.
The goal is not to keep young people on the sidelines of Church life, but to help them encounter Christ in the sacraments and community, and to empower them for mission. Young people are not merely recipients of ministry: they are called to share the Gospel and serve others. The Church’s accompaniment is fruitful when it helps them recognize Christ, grow in faith, and take up their own part in the Church’s life and mission.