| “Heart speaks unto heart”
Last 18th of September people from all over the country gathered to greet Pope Benedict XI. The JUST YOUTH team travelled with some young people from St. George’s RC High School and the Diocese of Salford on a pilgrimage to London for the Pope’s visit. We set off at 1:30 in the morning from Salford to travel through the night to London. We arrived in time for the Pope’s morning mass at Westminster Cathedral and were lucky enough to be invited inside the Piazza where we could watch the mass on the screen and one of our young people was chosen to go inside the Cathedral where the Pope was. After the mass, we processed to Hyde Park where, after a few security checks, we gathered with 80,000 other pilgrims for a festival leading up to the vigil with the Pope. The atmosphere was overwhelming with jovial anticipation for what was to come. There was singing and dancing from the crowd and fantastic displays, shows and reflections all throughout the afternoon. Joy, a Lay Spiritan volunteer, and I joined the procession and presented the JUST YOUTH banner to the Bishops. As if the day wasn’t exhilarating enough, we were some of the chosen few to sit with the Bishops and other guests in the VIP area so our young people and team were privileged to be just a few meters from the Holy Father during the vigil. The Pope spoke beautifully to all peoples of all ages and all races about the importance of faith and the impact of the Christian message in our lives. This was a deeply moving experience for so many and has touched the hearts and lives of the young people and has given them a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves – a community of faith and love. This has also shown the team the power and impact of God’s message on an entire nation, even one as seemingly secular and hostile as the UK. This reinvigorated the passion and the belief of the team in the mission that we are lucky enough to be a part of as we endeavour to minister to the marginalised youth of our society. This enables us to share in the Spiritan charism of serving the poor and marginalised, working with the people the Church struggles to reach. Overall this experience was deeply moving and uplifting and has instilled in us fervour to persevere in our mission to be a living witness of God’s word and unconditional love for the young.
Matthew O’ Brien Team Leader and Secondary Mission Lead |
Newsflash
GAP year volunteers Our GAP year volunteers are a vital part of our ministry. Joining us for a year or two, they live in community here in Salford and help to deliver our programs to young people. We look for fluent speakers of English who are confident in sharing their faith and who have experience working with young people, energy and willingness to give anything a go. |
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Heart speaks unto heart
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