ASIA/INDONESIA - Youth and Mission: a Festival in Jakarta

Wednesday, 30 May 2018 youth   mission   missionary animation   evangelization   civil society   society   faith  

Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - The young Catholics of Jakarta have begun to prepare the "Joyfest 2018", a Youth Festival which intends to reinvigorate faith and increase the missionary dimension of their Christian life, as Genia Gusky, public relations officer of the Joyfest 2018 reports to Agenzia Fides. The event will take place on 11 September 2018 in Serpong, in the province of Banten, in Jakarta. More than 10,000 young Catholics from the 67 parishes of the Archdiocese of Jakarta and 2000 from the countries of Southeast Asia will take part.
The event also responds to the appeal launched by Pope Francis for World Mission Day, centered on the theme of youth and mission in the Church. Young Indonesian Catholics feel the responsibility of living and witnessing faith in this historical moment, in which the nation is crossed by unrest due to Islamic extremism, and in which there is a need to live and strengthen "unity in diversity", typical of the Indonesian nation. Young people, together with all the other baptized, intend to contribute to harmony, peace and coexistence in society.
The first part of the Festival will focus on the "joy of faith", "on unity in diversity" and "on understanding the current problems" that affect the country. Experiences of spirituality, catechesis, testimonies of faith, prayer, seminaries will take place. The second part of the Festival includes talk shows and concerts, and with the special presence of Italian nun Cristina Scuccia, a famous singer, and of Jesuit musician Andang Listya Bainawan, originally from Canada.
About 10% of the 261 million Indonesians are Christians. The country has the largest Muslim population in the world, about 227 million people. (SD) (Agenzia Fides, 30/5/2018)


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