Christendom hosted a record attendance for its Best Week Ever high school summer program (BWE), with 329 rising high school seniors participating in one of the five week-long sessions this summer. Immersing students in the college’s academics, spiritual life, and Catholic culture, the Best Week Ever transformed so many lives this year, giving high school students the unique experience of learning the Truth, living the Faith, and thriving with other like-minded young Catholics.
“The Best Week Ever” is a bold title for a summer program, but the program name was selected because, year after year of running the program, this specific phrase was used by many participants to describe their experience.
“The week was quite truly the best week ever,” said Augustin of Spring, Texas. “It is no misnomer. I was able to see the culture of Christendom and gained so much from the experience. I had a blast at all the activities that we had through the week, and I really experienced what Catholic culture is like in the day-to-day. The week was, honestly, life-changing.”
BWE has had more than 4500 participants during its 26-year history, making it the most popular, well-attended, and highly-ranked pre-college summer program of its kind. This year drew students from 34 U.S. states and Canada.
“Our world today is so fractured and increasingly opposed to our Catholic Faith that it is often hard for even good Catholic students and families to live the Faith out fully in their daily life,” said Director of Admissions Sam Phillips. “At the summer program, students experience the joy of an immersive Catholic culture in which the Faith, in an authentic manner, permeates all aspects of everything the students do: not just at Mass and adoration, but in the classes, conversations, recreation, and various fun activities.”
An important aspect of demonstrating this integrated approach to being Catholic is showing participants, through the example of the Christendom students who serve as counselors, that it is possible to live a fully Catholic life and how fulfilling that can be —contrary to the lies of the world.
“The counselors were wonderful models of this type of behavior and of how you can be authentically Catholic and still have tons of fun,” said Natalie of Charlotte, North Carolina. “I really hope that, when I’m in college, I can be just as joyful as they are.”
William of Comstock, Texas, was blown away by what he experienced during his week at Christendom.
“I came expecting it to be my best week ever, and it still surpassed my expectations,” he said. “What made it so great was how Catholicism was a part of everything we did. I really enjoyed having so much fun with other Catholics. My time at the summer program really showed me how important and fulfilling the Faith and the sacraments are, and also how much fun it is to be Catholic. It totally was my best week ever.”
Over the past few years, when asked to rank how much they enjoyed the program, students ranked BWE an average of 4.75 out of 5 – a phenomenal rating for this type of program. Additionally, approximately 75% of the freshman class each year are BWE alumni — a great tribute to the value of the summer program for the students.
Next year’s five one-week BWE sessions will take place in June and July with an Early Bird Application opening on November 1 at the www.thebestweekever.com.
To view photos and testimonies from past BWEs, visit here.