Our Mission

By uniting ourselves to Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen, in the sacramental life of the Catholic Church, we seek profound transformation of heart and mind so that we may walk with confidence and joy bearing witness to the love of God and the truth that He has revealed.

What is Salt + Light?

The world is changing rapidly and no longer has the stable rhythm and pattern of life that our grandparents and parents experienced as they entered the working world. Catholics of the younger generation are called upon to live their faith with great passion and without fear, breaking society’s false expectation that “religion is not mentioned in public.”

Salt+Light, as the young adult ministry of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, calls upon all young adults, Catholic and non-Catholic, to encounter the person of Jesus Christ; to allow His grace to season the way we live and His truth to radiate by our witness to Him.

Like the early Church, we foster a culture of prayer, friendship, intellectual growth, and works of mercy. In particular, we seek to live the Sabbath Rest each Sunday with intentionality, and to foster a regular sacramental life to nourish an ethos of sacrificial love.

Our Goals

  • “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

    We desire every young adult in St. Louis to experience the unconditional love of God through friendship with fellow disciples and in the depths of prayer opened by the sacraments of the Catholic Church.

  • “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

    We seek to foster meaningful friendships grounded in a common pursuit of virtue, fun, holiness, and service.

  • “Come, follow me.” (Matthew 4:19)

    We provide a community and culture that opens young adults to the horizon of the Lord’s call upon their life, whether in celibacy or marriage, with a clear understanding of vocation as a response to the love of God.

  • “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

    We help young adults bridge from the Catholic ministries that fostered their faith in high school and college to the stability of parish life. In this transition, we want to reduce time spent on social media and build up a capacity for meaningful, in-person relationships that is the foundation of all vibrant community life.

Our Patron Saints

  • St. John Paul II

    As a young priest, St. John Paul II started a group called the “Środowisko”, or “the Community” for young people. The members of this group shared a common love for hiking, camping, and fishing in the outdoors, as they would discuss the pressing questions of how to live their Catholic faith in the context of a hostile communist government.

    Many of these young people grew and married one another or entered religious life, with St. John Paul II as their spiritual guide. His pastoral experiences with them helped shape his understanding of human nature that would be significant for his teaching on the Theology of the Body.

    We ask St. John Paul II to be with us as a spiritual father and to help heal the many wounds that are sustained by young adults in a culture that lacks reverence for the beauty and truth of God’s plan for human family life.

  • St. Philip Neri

    St. Philip began his mission as a young adult, only 18 years old, when he responded to the Lord’s call to leave behind his home of Florence and travel to Rome. In Rome, he found a city given over to a culture that prioritized experiences of pleasure and the accumulation of wealth.

    In response to this culture, St. Philip started “Oratory Nights” of prayer, song, and discourses on the scriptures, history, poetry, and tradition. He likewise would bring young people to serve the poor and sick throughout the City, all with good humor and a playful disposition.

    Through St. Philip’s witness, Rome experienced a great revival of the joy of the Gospel and turned from the worldly values it has previously embraced.

  • St. Catherine of Sienna

    St. Catherine lived at a time of social upheaval, as the Popes fled to Avignone to avoid the violence and fear present in the culture in Rome. St. Catherine began her mission with a simple life of intentional prayer, fasting, and concrete works of charity.

    Having been found faithful in small things, the Lord called her to become a great reformer of the Church as she prophetically called upon the Pope to return to Rome. She also fostered peace as a mediator in the political order rife with conflict and self-interest.

    With great depth, St. Catherine entered the mystical life of the Church, understanding that her prayer and sacrifice could heal the wounds that the past generation had inflicted upon the Bride of Christ.

  • St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis

    Why should the formation of friendships be limited by the time in which we live?

    Both St. Giorgio and St. Carlo died young, yet lived in a way that left a lasting mark upon the world. Despite living 70 years apart, their lives bore remarkable resemblances: both had a great love for the Eucharist, for the outdoors & sports, and embraced suffering at a young age as a way of entering the mystery of the passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

    Canonized together on September 7, 2025, in their heavenly friendship we find inspiration for a life of radical dedication to the Gospel while delighting in the good gifts that God has given us.