Before the Society had a name or a website, something was already happening. Friends were gathering for bootcamps, hikes, happy hours, dinners, retreats, and long conversations about life, faith, and purpose. Over time it became clear that these moments were more than just events. They were the early chapters of a community. What you see below are glimpses of that life together.
Early Adventures
Marco started hosting destination retreats and adventures, first it was called Life Project, then xLIFE Project (we added the x for Christ, of course). Attendees ranged from devout Catholic friends, to friends that had strayed away from the church for a while, and even some Protestant friends with inspiring Christian values.
Project LIFE retreat in San Carlos, Sonora
Destination Retreats
These “intellectual retreats” would be 80% fun (sports, cooking, games, fishing, restaurants, happy hours), but also 20% vocation work (workshops, speakers, prayer, confessions, when our friend priests could make it out with us, even some volunteering and service activities).
Project LIFE retreat in Kino Beach, Sonora
Road Trips with Purpose
Not all the trips were highly produced retreats, some of them were simply curated overnight experiences designed to introduce people of faith, with similar backgrounds, to each other, which sparked many close friendships (and several courtships, actually).
Retreat in Mt. Lemmon, Arizona
Dinners for 12
All this got sparked back up by an reel where Marco talked about his “Dinners for 12” which introduced single Catholics to each other in curated, social experiences, that actually sparked some courtships. Marco began curating these types of experiences for his young adult groups from St. Thomas the Apostle in Tucson and St. Mark’s in Oro Valley.
Diner-en-Blanc at the Kino Beach retreat
Dinners for 30
As Marco concluded a couple of years of humanitarian work and travel, finally hoping to reintegrate back into the local community in 2025, he decided to host again. So, he planned a dinner experience and sent out invites to Young Adult groups from a couple local parishes.
Dinner at Marco’s with Young Adult crews
Cocktail Parties & Social Experiences
And Marco started sharing reflections about vocation, friendship and dating on social media, and some videos started blowing up, pointing to a shared journey that so many Catholics are going through. So he started hosting some bigger social experiences, cocktail parties, and weekend pickup sports, bringing people in from Phoenix and Nogales, while still helping the local Young Adult groups.
New Year’s Party with Young Adult crews
Skills and Salon Nights
So, the idea behind Society of the 12 is to mix many things that have already been happening, old and new, though somewhat scattered, through different Young Adult groups, or parishes, or informally through our Catholic chats, but now we’re giving it structure, and we’re giving it a budget, to design cooler experiences for everyone, to create new, fun memories, and to help forge valuable friendships and relationships.
Catholic Talks adoration and social
Fitness Classes and Happy Hours
Speaking of social experiences, Marco also hosted a fitness program in the park for a while, which turned into a happy hours crew, and in just a couple of months turned into family, one of the coolest groups of close friends, which, though all live in different cities now, to this day still plan yearly trips and adventures together. “Street Gyms” as we called it, lasted for almost two years, but forged friendships for a lifetime.
Bootcamp and happy hours crew
These photos are all inspiration from social projects that Marco has helped host, many just casual with friends, others formally through churches or Young Adult groups, but now, we’re turning it into a social club life. This is where Society of the 12 came to be. So what started as a group of friends organizing retreats as excuses to go to the beach, may just become the movement that sparks a vibrant social life rooted in shared faith, dinners, sports, retreats, travel, and lifestyle.
“Cathletics” and happy hours in Tucson
The Society of the 12 exists to cultivate communities and experiences like this in cities everywhere, for Catholics and their friends. If you’ve ever wished for a fun place to meet new people and try new things, around a community of faith, you may already belong here.
Join the Club 