In Sydney the Catholic Youth Festival

In these days, from 7 to 9 December, the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (#ACYF) is being held in Sydney. This event, promoted by the Australian Church, proposes the new generations an opportunity for celebration and sharing joy, for training and evangelization. Listening to the vital questions of young people and discussing the challenges they face are among the objectives of the meeting, which includes testimonies, catechesis, concerts, liturgical celebrations, and a variety of social activities.

Ten years after the historic WYD in Sydney, this event entitled “Open New Horizons for Spreading Joy,” gives the Australian Bishops the occasion to launch a Year of Youth as a part of the preparation for the upcoming Synod of Bishops on “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment.” The theme of the Synod is also the subtitle of this Festival, which will end on Saturday with a Eucharistic celebration that nearly twenty thousand young people are expected to attend.

In Australia, Father João Chagas, head of the Dicastery’s Youth Office, has also had the opportunity to meet bishops and youth ministry workers of the Bishops’ Conference and from the different Australian dioceses. This time was dedicated to listening to the many testimonies and gathering the good fruits of the pastoral work of the last ten years.