This morning, the small pilgrimage contingent from Oblate Youth Australia arrived at Parque de Jogos for the international Oblate youth event. After beginning their pilgrimage 10 days prior in the Holy Land, they arrived a little tired, but very excited to be united with the entire young De Mazenod Family.
Our last international gathering of young people was at World Youth Day in Poland, 2016 and even though almost 7 years have passed since then, it was fantastic to see old friends reunited. It was also wonderful to witness those that have never been to an international oblate youth encounter meet and get to know other young members of the De Mazenod Family. It was especially special for our province as we were able to connect with the China Mission Pilgrimage group from Hong Kong who are also part the Australian Province. Both groups will be lucky enough to spend some time in Aix-En-Provence together after World Youth Day to reflect on their pilgrimage.
Unfortunately we only had 2 hours together, but we made the most of every minute we had with each other. We danced, waltzed, sang, chatted, and took many, many photos. No doubt a quick scroll of any Oblate social media page will be filled with videos and pictures from the event.
But the highlight of the event was the address from the Superior General Fr Chicho. It was a powerful moment of prayer and reflection as we listened to Fr Chicho reflect on the theme from the General Chapter: Pilgrims of Hope in Communion. Fr Chicho challenged us to walk with God just as Mary did, to be sowers of hope by placing ourselves at the service of the poor and to continue to be in communion with the Church and with God.
We ended this powerful moment of prayer and reflection by being blessed by our founder St Eugene’s cross and being told to go be Superior Generals in our own communities.
We would like to thank the European Vocations and Youth Ministry for all the work and time spent preparing and hosting this event under challenging circumstances. We hope that the next World Youth Day will allow us some more time together.
