Humans of SteubySTL: Phillip

Meet Phillip Uro

If you want to be “forever young,” attempt to capture the spirit of this former seminarian-turned-family man, who jokes that he is “forever 19 years old.” (To put this in perspective, Phillip was alive for the original “Forever Young” by Alphaville, the song Jay-Z sampled in “Young Forever”…also it’s that song from Napoleon Dynamite.)

Phillip Uro has been to SteubySTL 7 times so far as an adult, but his excitement at the event can be compared to a little kid on Christmas!

His favorite memory is the first year he was a volunteer prayer minister on the floor of the arena. He was so amped for Christ, that he decided to praise Him by being a dancing fool all weekend! On Sunday of the conference, a group of teens “charged the floor” and joined in, creating a huge mosh pit. He had a great time, but there were a few minor safety concerns afterwards. Phillip shrugged it off  joking, “It was my job as a prayer minister to stir up the Holy Spirit in the participants, but it was the ushers’ job to keep them in their seats.” AKA: Not his fault that everyone loves Jesus so much…

Phillip’s favorite part of any SteubySTL weekend is, of course, Saturday night Adoration and Sunday Mass.

SteubySTL only comes once (for him) a year, so in those spare 362-ish days Phillip works as an IT business analyst, spends time with his family, and does ministry work at his parish.

Phillip has some great advice for keeping the spirit of Steuby alive:

“Attend Mass, Adoration, and Reconciliation regularly. Remain active in parish life and join a ministry.”

And boy, does Phillip live those words. He loves to play guitar and sing with the 11:30 Sunday band at his parish (his wife and 2 daughters sing too). He has helped coach girls’ CYC soccer for 10 years, is a member of the Harvester Knights of Columbus, helps with youth ministry, and facilitates a Men’s Bible study. Oh, and he also is part of a Marriage Encounter Community with his wife.

So what’s the secret to being “forever young?” Staying active– physically, mentally and spiritually.

Written by Maggie Schroeder
Maggie was an intern at the Office of Youth Ministry for the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 2016. She studied Communication and Theology at Saint Louis University. In her spare time she loves playing Ultimate and playing popular songs on the recorder (you know, the sonorous woodwind instrument you played in 5th grade music class).