EUROPE/SPAIN - "Young people and the missionary dimension of the Church": about 10,000 young Spaniards choose to live an experience of mission during the Summer holidays

Monday, 18 April 2005

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Madrid (Fides Service) -"Young people and the missionary dimension of the Church” is the theme of a Missionary Youth Meeting 22-24 April in Madrid, organised by the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Spain with the Spanish Bishops’ Commission for Missions. Father Juan Martínez who collaborates with the Commission and with the PMS Spain told Fides that the initiative started last year to give importance to the fact that about 10,000 young Catholics in Spain decide to spend their Summer holidays living the experience of mission. “This reality is most important and deserves to be given proper consideration - Fr. Juan said -. Organising missionary animation among young people is one of the duties of the PMS and this theme was discussed at a recent meeting of National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Europe (see Fides 9 March 2005). In Spain - the priest continued - we have many missionary initiatives and many groups and associations which focus on mission, a sign that the theme of mission interests and draws young people. This year we tried to identity all the existing groups to extend the convocation”.
The meeting is especially for those young people who are preparing to go to a mission country during the Summer holidays as volunteers and to young people interested in missionary formation and life. The objectives of the meeting are: exchange experience on preparation for the Summer missionary experience; deepen awareness of the universal and ecclesial dimension of missionary co-operation and reflect on the missionary formation of young people. Conference topics include: “Mission is a duty for all” by national Director PMS Spain, Bishop Francisco Pérez González; “Missionary dimension in formation of youth” Fr Anastasio Gil García, PMS vice director; “Ecclesial and universal nature of charity” Father Fernando Fuentes, director secretariat of the Spanish Bishops’ Commission for Social Pastoral. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 18/4/2005; righe 22, parole 294)