“Courage is the willingness to act on your heart.”

How accurate this statement from speaker Mark Hart proved, because there was no lack of anxiety, fear and worries when three young women studying at the University of California at Berkeley – Rosemary Hua, Crystal Wang and myself – talked about putting on a conference for Catholic students on our campus.

The incredible power of the Holy Spirit comforted our worries and made possible the fruitful weekend of Jan. 17-20, when approximately 250 students from 24 campuses gathered at Berkeley for the University Catholic Conference of California 2014. The conference served to unite University of California students through the Catholic faith and explored the theme Fiat Lux (“Let there be light”), which we discovered was the University of California motto early on in the planning process.

A shot of part of the crowd gathered for the second University Catholic Conference of California held at the Paulist-served Newman Hall-Holy Spirit Parish at the University of California at Berkeley in January.

Students came to the Berkeley campus – served by the Paulist Fathers since 1907 – from each University of California site, as well as schools such as California State University – East Bay, and St. Mary’s College of Moraga. Throughout the weekend, the group’s Catholic faith was affirmed in talks from dynamic speakers, workshops, Eucharistic adoration, and a candlelight Mass at Newman Hall-Holy Spirit Parish.

Noted earlier, Mark Hart – known as “The Bible Geek” – gave a main presentation at the conference. He is executive vice president of Life Teen International, host of “Fired Up!” on Sirius-XM radio and research Fellow for the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. UCCC speaker Matt Weber is a producer for the CatholicTV Network who just published his first book, “Fearing the Stigmata.” He used wit, candor and storytelling to illustrate both the challenges and joys of living out the Catholic faith. Our third main speaker was Emily Wilson – a young, energetic and charismatic Catholic musician and speaker who travels the world sharing her faith through witness and worship.

The 2014 UCCC included plenty of opportunities for prayer, worship and reflection.

The 2014 conference saw an almost doubling of attendance from the first conference held in February 2013, including an increased presence of priests and religious.

Daniel Ojeda Zazueta, a sophomore at the University of California at Los Angeles, said he felt “super blessed” to have attended the UCCC in Berkeley.

“It is amazing to see so many college students that are also dedicated to Jesus while attending top universities,” he said.

Mosa Tsay, a student at the University of California at Berkeley, was the Liturgy and Spiritual Committee Chair for the 2014 UCCC. The 2015 UCCC is planned for the University of California at San Diego.