Diocese of Davenport youths Betsy Gavin, Harper Miller, Maggie Klitgaard and Becca Boblenz participate in high ropes at a Life Teen Summer Camp in Sainte Genevieve, Mo., earlier this month.
By Dan Russo
The Catholic Messenger
These days if you saw a social media post claiming that a group of Catholic teenagers voluntarily gave up their smart phones for a week and spent time together out in nature striving to grow in their faith, you might be tempted to dismiss it as clickbait.
But this actually happened recently when 14 intrepid souls from Regina and Assumption High Schools, in Iowa City and Davenport, became the first from the diocese to participate in Life Teen Summer Camp June 8-13.
“I thought it was a great experience,” said Thomas Murphy, one of the participants. “I
100 % grew deeper in my faith. I met a lot of new friends. My mom encouraged me to go and I got one of my best friends to come with me.”
At the camp, Mass, eucharistic adoration and other forms of prayer are mixed with high energy outdoor activities like obstacle courses, paintball and water sports.
“You better bring a lot of extra clothes with you because you have to get messy,” Murphy said.
Four adult chaperones accompanied the group of ninth- through twelfth-graders to a lush, wooded property in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri, known as Camp Cana. The site of a former winery has been transformed by the international Catholic youth ministry organization into a camp and retreat center dedicated to helping “young people encounter Christ and fall more deeply in love with their Catholic faith,” according to Randy Raus, Life Teen’s President and CEO. Campers stay in cabins at the facility which is named for the location of the wedding where Jesus performed his first public miracle. It is one of several camp sites the ministry has across the country and the latest to be completed.
“We were one of the first groups to use the facility,” said Father Andrew Rauenbuehler of St. Mary Parish in Iowa City. “We had a sense the group would be smaller this year because it’s a brand new thing.”
The priest, who served as one of the chaperones, recalled that he had the chance to offer the sacrament of reconciliation and that the group begin each day “with the intentionality of prayer.”
“They mixed the fun and activity of a summer camp with the opportunity to grow in our faith,” he said. “Moments we spent in prayer with praise and worship music were impactful for the students.”
Chris Paca, a teacher, was another chaperone. She described some of the best moments of the trip, which included chances to build trust among the students through exercises and projects.
“Adoration was really powerful,” said Paca. “I think it had a big impact on all the girls. They talked about being able to be themselves and be in touch with the Holy Spirit.”
Annie Gavin said she was supportive of her daughter Betsy going, especially since she herself had gone to Young Life, a non-denominational Christian camp, when she was young. The mom observed that some young people are “going through the motions” at Mass on Sunday and she hoped experiences like Life Teen would help her daughter and others have “hearts on fire” for their faith. Betsy Gavin, who is going into her junior year, had a positive experience at the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) and her mother was confident the Life Teen camp would help her daughter build on that.
“For Betsy that was so inspiring to go to NCYC and see kids who have the same values as (her),” said the mother. “I want her to feel her Catholicism is a blessing in her life and not a burden. What she brought back (from Life Teen) was how extremely powerful adoration can be when you couple that with music …I think the kids had a good experience.”
Youths from Assumption High School in Davenport and Regina High School in Iowa City take time on the lake at Life Teen’s Camp Cana in Sainte Genevieve, Mo., recently.
Murphy confirmed that impression. “I have been interested in my faith. This really helped me go deeper,” he said.
Bishop Dennis Walsh was exposed to Life Teen while serving as a priest in the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio. In an interview with the Catholic Messenger in 2025, the bishop said he saw the program’s value while attending camps at the camp in Covecrest, Georgia. Last summer, he took Trevor Pullinger, the diocese’s director of Faith Formation and Catechesis coordinator, and Zac Robinson, a theology teacher at Assumption High School in Davenport, to observe the camp.
Father Rauenbuehler said he hopes to bring more groups in the future.
“We’re hoping to build some momentum for the upcoming school year,” said the priest.
Life Teen serves middle and high school aged students. Aside from camps, it also has parish-based offerings. The ministry began in 1985 at a parish in Mesa, Arizona, and can now be found in about 1,600 parishes worldwide, according to the organization’s website. There are camp properties in Georgia, California and Texas. The organization also offers multiple “restore mission camps” that focus on work projects and service. This summer is the inaugural one for Camp Cana. For more information, visit lifeteen.com.
