Amanda (left) and MBVM Director of Communications Julie Worby (right) leading Camp MOSH in summer 2025.
St. George and Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parishes in Bourbonnais, IL, are a little different from each other: St. George has a smaller amount of families and stands along a country road on an open rural campus, while Maternity BVM has a larger amount of families and is tucked in between a busy main road and a college campus. Yet, they share Viatorian identity, with Viatorian pastors at each for a long, long time and, for the last two years, a shared youth ministry with Coordinator of Viatorian Youth Ministry Amanda Fierce.
A major common trait Amanda witnesses is the deep welcome and hospitality of the people in both parishes, which helps animate youth ministry. “You have a pretty even mix of public school kids and private school kids who are Bishop McNamara Catholic School students. We do our best to balance that, regardless of where you go to school, you’re part of our youth ministry,” Amanda said, on Episode 111 of Viatorian Voices. “We want all of them there, and we encourage relationships among all our students, too.”
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To build on this mix on schools, Amanda has established strong relationships with the parish religious education directors, and she teaches 7th graders in the program at Maternity. “We want to keep families involved and see this as a 12-plus-year commitment,” Amanda said. “Once you get to kindergarten, you’re starting religious education or attending Catholic school, and we have programming for you all the way through high school.”
Amanda (left) took four teens to Kairos with Saint Viator High School so that they could experience the retreat and help restart the Bourbonnais Kairos program this summer.
In walking with young people and partnering with families, Amanda strives to help everyone feel well at home in these Viatorian parishes. She believes that faith can take deep root and grow through this community, and as young people discern their passion for service and ministry, Amanda appreciates the ever-present Viatorian example. “Fr. Jason, Fr. Moses, and Fr. Pat are all very approachable in their homilies, in the way they show up at events, in knowing what’s going at the kids’ schools. They care about families here,” Amanda said. “There are lots of adults, both professed and lay, who are already living this Viatorian way, and we get to work side-by-side with these people. What a blessing that I don’t have to look far to find them.”
Hear more on these two parishes, the mix of socializing and fun with prayer and service, and how Amanda tries to offer an attractive and balanced community to teens and their families. Episode 111 is available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.