Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Chihuahua (Agenzia Fides) – The 14th National Congress for the Holy Childhood Association and Youth Missionaries (CONIAM), organized by the Pontifical Mission Societies of Mexico is taking place in Chihuahua in Mexico, February 4 to 7. The main objective of CONIAM is to awaken the missionary spirit in children and adolescents in Mexico, to strengthen the work of the Holy Childhood Association and Youth Missionaries (IAM), and promote them in places where they are not yet established. For 28 years (since 1982) now, Mexico has been celebrating the Missionary Congresses for children and adolescents, the current one being the 14th. The Congress of the IAM is held every two years in a diocese in the country, and is considered a great way to awaken the missionary awareness among families and group leaders, in order to respond to the missionary mandate of the Risen Christ.
This time the host diocese is the Archdiocese of Chihuahua, and the slogan is: "Your life, Father Maldonado, has called us to the Mission." Father Maldonado (1892-1937), a diocesan priest of Chihuahua, worked with the Tarahumara Indians. He was brutally murdered in the town where he was pastor, at a time of intense persecution of the Church by the Mexican government. John Paul II declared him blessed in 1992 and canonized him in 2000.
The Congress brings together thousands of children and adolescents ages 8-15. The opening and closing are particularly intense moments of prayer and celebration, as all the participants gather for a special Mass. One of the most significant moments at the closure of Congress, is the Missionary March, where children and young people sing, dance, cry, and applaud while walking. The novelty of this Congress 2010 is that PMS of Mexico has worked to make the live webcast of this event possible, so that those who cannot attend can experience it live through the website: www.ompemexico.org.mx. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 05/02/2010)
