What is NCYC?

The National Catholic Youth Conference is the celebration of Catholic youth In the United States. NCYC is organized by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry which is made of diocesan leaders and collaborating members from across the country. This conference typically draws up to 25,000 young people and adults from all over the country. NCYC includes a wide variety of opportunities for our young people to experience God and His Church. There are five general sessions which include nationally-known speakers and a Mass on Saturday evening, one general session each morning, and one each night to bookend the NCYC days. In between the general sessions are rounds of workshops, an interactive thematic park for hands-on experiences, and the opportunity to mingle with Catholic speakers and other vendors, concerts, service projects, daily Mass, adoration, confessions, and time to meet teens from all different walks of life.

Who can attend NCYC?

NCYC is for high school teens (grades 9-12) and their chaperones. Participants must be in at least 9th grade to attend. Parents of teens are also highly encouraged to attend the experience, but must agree to serve in the capacity of a chaperone while at NCYC.

Faith Mentors (Chaperones) are adults age 21 and over will serve as chaperones for the trip. As a Faith Mentor, chaperones will be able to assist the youth participants in selecting workshops, getting the most out of an experience, and discussing the ways that God is working in their lives during NCYC and beyond.

What are the details for this year's conference?

When:  NCYC will take place November 20-22, 2025, in Indianapolis, Indiana
Theme: I Am | Yo Soy

Hotel Accommodations

We will be at the a hotel in downtown Indianapolis. Groups are to stay overnight for 3 nights (Thursday – Saturday). There will be 4 students in each room. 

Transportation

Students will be dropped off and picked up at our hotel by parents and will walk everywhere during the conference.

Food

Typically, food is not included in the cost of NCYC. However, as a group, we will have an added cost for food that OLG will provide. While students are allowed to get food on their own, we have found that huge crowds make us providing meals the easiest ways for students to get the most from the experience. We will seek to provide to-go breakfasts, boxed lunches, and one group dinner at a restaurant. We are aiming to do all of this for $50 per person, though students should bring an additional personal money for their own purchases of extra food or snacks. 

Trading Items

NCYC groups bring some small trinket that represents where they are from (stickers with city names on them, bracelets, etc.). OLG and our diocese will have items for students to trade, but it is not uncommon for students to prepare these for their own group as well.

Cost

NCYC is one of the most expensive opportunities in youth ministry. We recognize this and so create several avenues for making this workable for families. The cost for NCYC 2025 is $625.

To help with these costs, OLG will be doing the following:

1. We will provide scholarships for students with a special effort to assist families with multiple participants. Last NCYC, we met the financial needs of every participant, giving out more than $10,000 is scholarships.
2. We will seek donations to subsidize the cost of the trip.
3. Chaperones will receive a 50% discount on the cost of their trip.
4. Families with multiple registrations will pay full price for the first student but will receive a 50% discount for every registration thereafter.

If students are available and interested in going to NCYC, we want to make that happen. This is a high cost, but we're confident with time and effort, we can make it work for any family. Please talk to us with questions!

Communication

OLG will communicate with NCYC pilgrims via Flocknote, which will send emails and text messages as needed. It is very important that students and families read and respond as needed to this communication.

Contact

You may contact [email protected] to answer any NCYC questions!