Nicole Perone is the National Coordinator of ESTEEM, a faith-based leadership formation program for Catholic students at colleges and universities across the United States. Millennial editor Robert Christian interviewed her on her work, young adults, and her faith.

Why was ESTEEM (Engaging Students to Enliven the Ecclesial Mission) created? And how do you help young adult Catholics develop as leaders? 

ESTEEM was created in response to concerns about the attrition of young people from the Church—certainly a concern many share–but through the lens of loss of talent. ESTEEM is predicated on the truth that young adults have so many incredible gifts to share with the Church, so much to give in the fullness of their vocations, that it is simply a missed opportunity not to engage their talents. ESTEEM is based on the idea that young adults can be successful professionals in their various fields, using the gifts God has given them, and also bring those to bear fruit for the Church. For example, one can be an accountant and succeed in that field, and also be an active Catholic who shares that financial acumen with the Church as a person of faith and skill. To invite them into leadership is one way we can stem the tide of loss when young adults leave campus ministries and find themselves in the broader Church.

The approach that ESTEEM takes is one of cultivating what we call “ecclesial confidence”: we encounter so many young adults who are extraordinary in so many ways, totally competent and capable who, when invited to greater involvement in the life of the Church or leadership roles, suddenly fold under surprisingly crippling insecurity: “Me?? Not me! I’m not the most pious, I don’t have a degree in theology, etc.” and it’s simply flabbergasting! So, we ask ourselves: what tools need to be in the proverbial toolkit of young adults that they feel confident entering into ecclesial spaces and bringing the best of themselves? What do they need in their formation as young leaders to ensure that the transition from vibrant, inclusive, young adult-focused campus ministries to parishes of varying levels of vibrancy feels less like being tossed into the tempest?

Are there unique things that young adults can offer the Church? 

Absolutely! Pope Francis is incredibly clear and enthusiastic about this in his apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit, and that provides an amplification off what we anecdotally know to be true. Young adults bring the vivacity, zeal, and energy of being young, with the promise and excitement of the early stages of adulthood. Generationally, current young adults (that is, younger millennials and Generation Z) are also the highest educated generations with the most access to information, as well as uniquely justice-driven and attentive to matters of health and wellbeing (especially mental health).  All of these factors make for a powerful combination that can and should be engaged to serve the Church and the world.

What challenges do you think many young people are facing in the US at this moment in history? Can Catholicism help them overcome some of these challenges and truly flourish? 

I think it is an incredibly hard time to be a person of any age in our world, let alone a young person. Frankly, times are tough in the US: unchecked capitalism has made it almost impossible for young people to receive an education without crippling debt; to find meaningful work that pays a just and equitable wage; to receive medical care without the maelstrom of the medical and insurance industries; to feel safe in their own bodies and communities if they are people on the margins in any way…I could go on and on. Plus, there is the rise of anxiety and mental health challenges in an increasingly isolated generation of young people! It is unfortunate that sometimes the Church forgets that we are called to be in the world, not of it, and some of these same problems are perpetuated in or exacerbated by the Church. However, the Church is at her best when she is an antidote to those challenges I listed. Our faith professes the inherent dignity of the human person; the rights and responsibilities we all possess; and what it means to care for one another with preference for those on the margins. Catholicism can and should be the bearer of hope in spaces of hopelessness, an advocate for justice and equity, and a place where all feel welcomed and loved exactly as God made them.

What are some obstacles to the Church retaining more young people and young adults? What are some obstacles to young people being given more leadership roles in the Church? 

It has been my experience that many leaders in the Church, and even people of God in the pews, easily fall victim to a “pay your dues” mentality, unconsciously–and sometimes consciously–sending the message that one has little to contribute until a certain age, when somehow all of the wisdom of experience magically enters the psyche? It’s ludicrous to make age the single metric for leadership skill. And what we have seen is that by the time young adults are of an age to be considered appropriate for greater involvement in Church life, they have already taken their talents elsewhere, to organizations and causes that affirmed their contributions from a much younger age and thus gained the respect and investment of young adults. Young adults will go where other young adults are: you can’t be what you can’t see, and when those involved in decision-making and leadership in faith communities are all gray-haired or old enough to be the parents and grandparents of young adults, the message is clear that this is not the space for them.

A culture shift needs to happen of older adults willing to make space for young adults to lead in a meaningful way: not as the token young adult on a committee, but in actual roles of leadership that have impact. Sometimes this also means the commitment of older adults in mentoring younger adults, and succession planning for their own successors. (This can be very challenging for adults of a certain age!) Many faith communities and Catholic organizations like to claim their support of young adults, but their actual governance, leadership, and investment of energies and resources do not match that.

Why did you decide to become involved in this work?

I never decided, I sort of fell backwards into it (like all good things God calls, or drags, us to do)!

I completed my Master of Divinity at Yale University and was invited to a position at the Archdiocese of Hartford, first in communications and later in adult faith formation. Chancery work was a fascinating experience in which I got to see the inner machinations of the institutional Church, and concurrently I found myself often invited to work involving young adults by virtue of the fact that I was (and still am) a young adult! This reached an apex with my attendance at the Pre-Synod gathering at the Vatican in advance of the Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment. Being involved in the Pre-Synod and serving on the writing team for the final document (which informed the instrumentum laboris of the Synod and subsequently Christus Vivit) kick-started my involvement on the national level speaking and writing on the topic of young adults in the Church, which I found intersected inextricably with my professional life in adult faith formation–because young adults are adults!

How does your faith impact your life outside of work?

I certainly consider myself a practicing Catholic–to quote Harry Connick Jr., I’m practicing until I get it right!

My husband is also in “Church work,” as the Digital Editor of National Catholic Reporter and a communications consultant for Catholic organizations who also collaborates with the Vatican. So, we very much blend work and life! We’ve been fortunate to find excellent parish communities at which to worship with our daughter and good friends in ministry who support and accompany us. We work hard to try to be as “normal” in our Catholicism as we can: to be authentic about how we live our faith, vulnerable with our grapplings and challenges, and just try to be faithful witnesses in all that we do. This often means we are called upon to accompany our friends, families, and sometimes even strangers who are seeking the sacraments, facing grief and loss, or figuring out big questions. It is not an occupational hazard, but truly an occupational blessing.

Why are you Catholic in 2024?

Even when there are so many challenges, and so many good reasons that people step aside from their faith, I still believe in the Church. My Catholic faith has been the centering point for me in times of turmoil and growth. It has made the good times great and the hard times just a little bit easier. Catholic Social Teaching has brought me into a more profound appreciation for our tradition and the positive impact we have on the world. The Catholic Intellectual Tradition has equipped me to grapple with the big questions of life. Ignatian spirituality has anchored me, deepened my relationship with our triune God who we find in all things, and provided a compass for me to discern through the pivotal points of my life and vocation. The beauty in our liturgies, music, and art have lifted my eyes and heart above the noise of the world. Great spiritual mentors have walked with me and seen things in me I could not see in myself. Pope Francis is the personification of hope, compassion, and mercy, and the communion of saints have been “big sisters and brothers” in faith to me when I felt alone. I have had the opportunity to walk with so many people–people who love the Church, who care about young people, who desire the sacraments, who are searching for meaning, who are passionate about the transmission of faith–who restore my hope in this body.