STEUBENVILLE, OHIO— At a time when young adults are told they must choose between professional success and family life, between ambition and holiness, or between faith and cultural relevance, Franciscan University of Steubenville is convening a national conversation to challenge that narrative.

On March 20 and 21, 2026, Franciscan University will host Work, Family, and Faith: Toward an Integrated Life, a major conference presented by Franciscan’s Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life, which brings together nationally recognized Catholic thinkers, cultural leaders, Millennial and Gen Z voices to articulate a richer, more human vision of vocation.

“At the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life, our mission is to illuminate how truth shapes every dimension of human flourishing,” said Dr. Anne Hendershott, director of the Veritas Center and professor of sociology. “This conference embodies that mission by helping attendees see that their careers, their families, and their fidelity to Christ are meant to reinforce one another and become a powerful witness in the world.”

Keynote speakers include Mary Rice Hasson, JD, the Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and director of the Person and Identity Project, and Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, one of the nation’s leading advocates for the family in public life.

Hasson is a nationally recognized authority on questions of identity, womanhood, and the human person, and a visiting fellow at Franciscan’s Veritas Center. Schilling has spearheaded high-profile efforts to defend parental rights, protect women’s sports, and elevate family policy to the center of American political debate.

The conference will also feature panelists including Alessandro DiSanto, co-founder of Hallow, the world’s leading Catholic prayer app; Dr. Deborah Savage, professor of theology and director of the Institute for the Study of Man and Woman at Franciscan University; Patrick T. Brown, fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center; Dr. Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, economist and associate professor at The Catholic University of America; and Dr. Rebecca Rook, department chair and associate professor of education at Franciscan University.

Franciscan University is hosting the conference in response to a generational moment defined by cultural confusion, economic uncertainty, and unprecedented pressure to privatize faith and postpone family life.

“We are hosting this conference because the next generation is entering a workforce shaped by instability, cultural confusion, and pressures that often undermine faith and family life,” Hendershott said. “Young people of faith are hungry for a vision of adulthood that does not force them to choose between ambition and holiness, or success and family. The Church has something far richer to offer, and this conference helps them see that their gifts, aspirations, and deepest commitments belong together.”

By bringing scholars, practitioners, and Gen Z voices into a single conversation, the conference seeks to show that a life rooted in Christ is not only possible in modern society but urgently needed.

Through keynote addresses, practical panels, Gen Z discussions, and interactive sessions grounded in Catholic social teaching, Work, Family, and Faith: Toward an Integrated Life will challenge participants to rethink what success, vocation, and flourishing really mean.

Registration and full details are available at: https://franciscan.edu/work-family-and-faith-toward-an-integrated-life/.

The conference schedule can be viewed here.