Watch this short film in which Father Corey Bilodeau shares how attending the Diocesan Youth Leadership Camp (DYLC) changed his life as a young man. The camp is part-funded by your generous support of the Diocese of Lansing’s Diocesan Services Appeal. Thank you and God bless you.
“I am grateful to go to the Diocesan Youth Leadership Camp because that helped cement my faith more,” says Father Bilodeau who currently serves the parish of Saint Thomas Aquinas in East Lansing and Saint John Student Center at Michigan State University.
Founded in 1986, the Diocesan Youth Leadership Camp is unique in that it provides both spiritual enrichment and practical training to help the youth of the diocese grow in their faith and learn how to be effective missionary disciples.
A son of Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Lansing, a young Corey Bilodeau first attended the Diocesan Youth Leadership Camp in 2007. Several years later, he was part of the leadership team running the camp. Now, as a priest of the Diocese of Lansing, he often attends to provide sacraments for the teens present. Father Bilodeau attributes the dual aspects of the camp for his blossoming in faith and leadership as a teen.
“DYLC ties the practical with the theoretical,” he explains. “You learn how to communicate, to listen, to run a small group, to plan for an event at a parish, but also at the heart of it is asking: What does the Lord want you to do? You get those moments you typically get at a retreat — adoration, confession, Mass, times of prayer — but also the aspects of a conference, which helps get students out of their comfort zones, talking, building relationships, and helping them know they’re not alone.”
Ordained to the sacred priesthood in 2023, Father Bilodeau departs East Lansing in July whereupon he’ll become the new pastor of Saint Mary Magdalen Parish in Brighton.
• To find out more about the Diocesan Services Appeal 2026, go to: https://www.dioceseoflansing.org/DSA
• This summer’s camp will take place June 21-26 at the St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt. The cost is $500 per registrant, and there are limited spots available. To learn more or register, visit: dioceseoflansing.org/DYLC2026