World Youth Day 2023

WYD 2023 in Lisboa! The challenge is on... we are responding to the Holy Father's call to go and meet him in Lisbon! Young people from all over the world are preparing to live this strong time of faith, a tradition launched by the great Pope John Paul II. We want to tell the Holy Father that we love him, that we pray for him and for the Church, that we are part of the young Church that wants to spread joy and hope in today's world.

At the beginning of August, we left for a week on pilgrimage, with about twenty young people and about twenty sisters...from Lourdes to Fatima, we were on a Marian pilgrimage to entrust to Mary our community, our vocations, so many prayer intentions entrusted to us from all over the world. We set off with a group young of people from various countries, everyone speaking different  languages, but few words were needed to focus on the essential - the love of Jesus Christ. The prayer of the rosary, the celebration of the mass, the singing of many alleluias punctuated our pilgrimage. We shared together the Word of God in order to penetrate the secrets of Christ's heart and we discussed the 1000 and 1 questions that young people have on freedom, truth, fidelity...

The 2 great torchlight processions of Lourdes and Fatima remain etched in our memories.

What a joy, as we approached Lisbon, to see so many young people having left their homes, their comforts, their country, their habits...to come and spend the night in the sweltering heat, on a field of dirt reddened by the sun, with minimal supplies.

It was the joy of the young people that struck us so much! We were so struck by their thirst for the absolute! It was the silence of a million and a half young people at the foot of Jesus in the Eucharist during the prayer vigil on Saturday, August the 5th and during the Mass of the Transfiguration on Sunday, August the 6th, which deeply touched us! Yes, Most Holy Father, we want to be those shining stars, consumed by the love of Jesus in prayer, given to our brothers and sisters in a profound gift of self and welcoming without borders.

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