Many young Catholics attend retreats and conferences that help them grow in their faith, but the annual National Catholic Youth Conference takes that experience to another level.

Just ask Samuel Sepulveda, who attended the most recent conference in Indianapolis, Nov. 20–22, 2025.

In the past couple of years, he has participated in several retreats and events, including Vocations Awareness Weekend, the Diocesan Youth Conference, NCYC and Urban Plunge twice.

“I’ve made such great friendships, and it’s just so fulfilling to be in such a good environment surrounded by teens who want to do their part to help people and grow closer to Jesus,” he said.

Sepulveda made the trip to NCYC with 75 other youth from across the Diocese of St. Augustine. He was also chosen to be part of a group of attendees who met to help formulate questions that were asked to Pope Leo XIV during a virtual Q&A at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Although he was not among the five selected to ask questions directly, Sepulveda said he felt honored to be part of the collaboration for such a meaningful moment for the more than 16,000 people in attendance.

“I’m still wrapping my head around all that happened at NCYC,” he said with a chuckle. “We had a pineapple that we carried with us everywhere we went and used it as a way to connect with people and share our faith stories.”

Since returning from NCYC, Sepulveda said many people at his high school — Catholics and non-Catholics alike — have asked about his experience.

“We were chanting ‘Leo, Leo, we love Leo’ throughout the stadium during the event, and it was great to hear the love for Pope Leo and then to have him give back that love,” he said.

Sepulveda takes pride in his Catholic faith and is eager to share it, especially while attending a public high school where many of his classmates are not Catholic.

“I have a friend who I went to middle school with for about six months after I got here, before he moved to Portugal,” he said. “He is still one of my closest friends, but I hadn’t talked to him in a while after he moved. Then I gave him a call and started talking to him about God one day.

“About a year and a half ago he was a nonpracticing Catholic, but now he has started going to church again, and it just shows the power the Catholic faith can have.”

The NCYC experience is just the latest of several moments that have helped Sepulveda recognize what he believes may be a call from God to commit his life fully to the Church. That includes beginning the process of applying to become a seminarian.

“I’ve wanted to be a priest ever since I was about 5 years old, because my uncle went to seminary around that time and he was a role model for me,” he said. “I was always surrounded by seminarians and priests growing up, and it was a seed that was planted early on.”

Although the idea of becoming a priest had long been in the back of his mind, it was not always his primary focus as he grew older. Still, his faith remained strong, and he was known among classmates in Colombia for his devotion. Friends even affectionately nicknamed him “Father Sammy.”

Sepulveda moved with his family to the United States in 2021 when he was 13 years old. The transition was stressful during the first two years, but when he was 15, he began to feel a renewed sense of calling to the priesthood.

“I was just so drawn to it, and those memories from the past which had always been there were now at the forefront,” he said.

Around that same time, he met Father Clay Ludwig, vocation director for the Diocese of St. Augustine, who has helped guide him in his discernment.

“Since I was a young kid, I’ve been fortunate to have so many priests in my life who have supported me and shown me what it means to have a strong relationship with God,” he said.