This thesis sought to evaluate how a Christian Peer-ministry programme entitled ‘Spiritan Faith Friends’ (SFF) impacted the faith development of male adolescents in three second-level Spiritan Schools in Ireland. What faith development meant in the context of this programme was explored, as well as how the faith development of the participants was impacted by a sense of connectedness that may have arisen from belonging to such a programme within a denominational school setting. The definition of ‘connectedness’ used is in agreement with that of Karcher and Lee (2002, p.93), who define it as ‘a response to relatedness and belonging. …. Connectedness, then, reflects one’s perception of his or her own involvement in and affection for others, activities and organisations.’ There are two elements to draw from this definition: first, connectedness and belonging are distinct from each other yet related, and, second, connectedness which in this sense arises out of one’s sense of belonging, has a reciprocal nature, received as well as given. Many questions were asked, among them: How might this programme impact the faith development of the male adolescent participants? How might it connect with them during this stage of development? How might it connect with their search for meaning within a religious identity? Does it offer a sense of belonging [to the Christian community] by affording the experience of a role in the Catholic Church? Does the denominational setting impact the outcomes of the programme? The research was conducted in two stages: an action research stage and a lasting impact stage. Both stages employed ‘a wide range of interconnected interpretative methods,’ as the researcher’s ontology filtered the lens through which she guided and effected the final ‘bricolage’ (Denzin and Lincoln 2003, p.5).