Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Arequipa (Fides Service) -Arequipa, Peru’s “white city” will host from 4 - 8 August at San Jose College the 3rd National Youth Mission Congress with the slogan “Young person your life is mission!”. To reawaken and strengthen faith and missionary witness of young Peruvians is the main objective of the Congress to enable them to be bold and holy prophets of the new millennium, responding with generosity and courage to the challenges of new evangelisation in their own local Churches and across frontiers.
The Congress is organised by the Pontifical Mission Societies in Peru in collaboration with the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference through the Bishops’ Commission for Missions and for Youth and naturally with the archdiocese of Arequipa. The organisers expect about 2,000 young participants from 4 archdioceses, 19 dioceses, 11 Prelatures and 6 Apostolic Vicariates including those in the most impervious regions of Peru.
The basic text for the youth meeting is Pope John Paul II’s message for World Youth Day 2004: “We want to see Jesus”. To help reflection on the Pope’s message the organisers have prepared a series of questions for the young people: “Who is Jesus for us? Do we want to see Jesus? Come? Dove? Do we let ourselves be moved and called by him? How can we be missionaries of Jesus Christ in the world today? How can we feel the responsibility for mission beyond frontiers?”.. The young participants will form work groups to reflect and answer these questions.
Among the objectives of the mission congress we mention: “Revive in church communities and among our young people faith with a missionary character, strengthened by prayer, the Word of God and the Eucharist; offer a new image of the Church: welcoming, prophetic and missionary which attracts people, especially those who are furthest away, with witness of faith and holiness; create or consolidate church structures for the promotion of missionary vocations among priests and religious and laity. Make known the Church’s evangelising work which it achieves through the Pontifical Mission Societies with children, young people ,the sick and families”
Archbishop José P. Ríos Reynoso of Arequipa, in the presentation of the basic text for the Congress said “the Congress will without a doubt strengthen our missionary awareness and help us to give of our poverty so that the Church in Peru will accept the missionary command with new impulse”. In his letter convoking the congress he said he hoped that “the joy and enthusiasm of our young people will give new missionary spirit to the whole of the Arequipa archdiocese, to enable it to live a new missionary Pentecost ”. (R.Z.) (Agenzia Fides 6/7/2004; Righe 31; Parole 412)
