POWAY – This year’s Fiat Award, which honors a young adult for outstanding commitment to young adult ministry, will be presented to Noreen Domingo.
She is the director of youth and young adult ministry at St. Brigid Parish in Pacific Beach.
Domingo will receive the award at the annual Young Adult Christmas Gala on Saturday, Dec. 13, 5:30 to 10 p.m., at St. Michael Parish’s Holy Family Center in Poway.
More than 300 young adults are expected to attend the gala, sponsored by the diocesan Office for Youth and Young Adult Ministry. The event includes a catered dinner, the presentation of the Fiat Award, and an evening of dancing.
“Fiat” is Latin for “Let it be done” and was the Virgin Mary’s response when called to be the mother of the Messiah.
“Our award recognizes someone who has given a selfless ‘yes’ to serving the young adult community of San Diego and Imperial counties,” said Evelyn Knuff, an associate director in the office.
“(Domingo) is kind, dedicated, and open to where God leads her, even if that may not be the easiest of paths,” said the office’s director, Maricruz Flores Strauss. “She leads others by example, is always willing to lend a hand when help is needed, and has a compassionate approach to those in need.”
Domingo, 30, told The Southern Cross that she “started crying” when she received word that she would be this year’s honoree.
Born in Hawaii and raised in Orange County, Domingo graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2018 and was immediately stationed in San Diego.
“I joined St. Brigid’s the day after I moved here,” she said.
The following year, as a member of the parish’s young adult group, she was invited to join the young adult retreat team.
After receiving a medical discharge from the Navy in 2021, she joined the parish staff, while also serving as parishioner engagement coordinator and receptionist.
Domingo became coordinator of the parish’s young adult ministry in late 2021 and, since assuming responsibility for youth ministry last year, has served as director of youth and young adult ministry.
“I know I stand on the shoulders of giants. I cannot take credit for what St. Brigid’s has been (over) the last 40 years,” she said of the parish, which has long been known as home to a vibrant young adult community.
But she takes pride in her work of rebuilding the ministry after the COVID-19 pandemic era, providing “a place where people … feel welcome” and “a space where they can meet God.”
“Every week, it’s insane,” she said of the numbers of young adults attending the ministry’s events.
She noted that, currently, over 175 are gathering weekly to read and reflect in small groups on the upcoming Sunday Mass readings.
Reflecting on where she encounters God in her current ministry, Domingo said that one way is through “lectio divina,” reading and reflecting on Scripture.
Lectio divina is “our bread and butter,” she said of St. Brigid’s young adult ministry.
Another place that she finds God is in working alongside fellow young adult ministry leaders.
“Just seeing the leaders be so merciful, kind with one another, with me, with the people we lead,” she said, “I see God all the time in the leaders.”
Tickets for the gala are $75 per person and $125 for engaged and married couples. For more information, visit sdcatholic.org/youngadult.
