RENTON – During the pandemic, Franciscan Father Casey Cole’s YouTube channel, Breaking in the Habit, became a hit with youth ministers, like Debbie Blomquist at St. Stephen the Martyr Parish, who wanted to engage youth going through confirmation prep online.

Father Casey’s “movie-star quality,” youth, presence and sense of humor are a draw to young people, and he “does a great job with presentations,” Blomquist said. “The kids really like him.”

With the pandemic receding, the opportunity to have Father Casey speak in person during July was a way to encourage young people to return in person to St. Stephen.

“We’ve had to think outside the box for how we’ll do things this fall. This is a perfect opportunity to reboot,” Blomquist said before Father Casey’s visit. “We’re hoping his message will really help them decide what their call to discipleship is.”

During his stay in the Seattle area, Father Casey — a friar and author with over 200,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel and thousands of followers on social media — inspired Catholics of all ages at several events from July 15 to 18.

It was part of his summer travels around the country “in the hopes of inspiring greater discipleship,” Father Casey said in an email on his way to his next stop. 

“I try to remind people of the essential nature of their lives as Christians — the foundational call we all received when we were baptized to live as Jesus did — in order to get people more involved in the life of the world,” Father Casey said.

Everyone has a lot to offer, but people often make excuses or let small things get in the way, he said.

“I want to focus their attention on what matters and instill a spirit of discernment in each person, helping them to ask every day, ‘What is God calling me to today?’ Our faith is so life-giving and has so much to offer the world,” Father Casey added.

Franciscan Father Casey Cole speaks during Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Burien July 15. He also celebrated Mass and gave presentations at St. Stephen the Martyr Parish in Renton and St. Joseph Parish in Issaquah during his four-day visit to the archdiocese.

At a Theology on Tap event in the parking lot at St. Francis Assisi Parish in Burien, Father Casey inspired some 75 young adults when he spoke about discerning God’s call. A smaller gathering was held at a Seattle pub, where attendees could chat directly with Father Casey, said Annie Bailey, the archdiocese’s director of young adult ministry.

Father Casey also stopped by a gathering of Ignite Your Torch NW (a high school Catholic youth conference) and celebrated Mass and gave presentations at St. Stephen the Martyr and St. Joseph Parish in Issaquah. He also squeezed in time for a small-group mountain hike led by a seminarian.

“He spoke beautifully and practically about vocation and discipleship throughout the various days he was here,” Bailey said. “He also brought some humor and shared of his own practical experiences, which made the talks fun and engaging.”

“I hope that it was an inspiration to young and old,” she added.

Franciscan Father Casey Cole, center, joined a hike to Snow Lake near Snoqualmie Pass during his July visit to the Seattle area. Photo: Courtesy Father Casey Cole

At St. Stephen the Martyr, Father Casey’s message during Mass was about how God works through people to change the world.

“You must have a solid foundation of prayer if you want to do anything in life,” he told those gathered. “The rest of world doesn’t understand prayer. They see it as a waste of time, as a time when you could be doing something practical.”

You can’t lead without following first, without first being filled with Christ, Father Casey said.

“We couldn’t do the work if it weren’t for the Word to meditate on. You can’t do it without Christ,” he said, and “you can’t do it without a community of faith.”