Friday 15 August 2008

For most young people, World Youth Day 2008 was the experience of a lifetime, exceeding all possible expectations. But after all the mayhem and high spirits, the question now on everyone's mind is "where to from here?” The physical pilgrimage to Sydney may be over, but the spiritual pilgrimage of young people continues.

On the back of the amazing Days in the Dioceses and World Youth Day experience Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart recently announced the creation of a new Archdiocesan Office for Youth, with a core vision of ensuring that all young Catholics are provided with as many opportunities for nourishing their faith and participating in their Church.

Archbishop Hart shared that he envisions the new Office to work closely with young people, encouraging them to form a personal relationship with Christ, deepening their knowledge in the faith, sharing in the social dimension of the Church and participating in her apostolic and outgoing endeavours.

"Thousands of youth from Melbourne travelled up to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008. This is a wonderful indication of the Holy Spirit working through our young people, emboldening them to make a journey of faith towards Christ. The Archdiocesan Office for Youth has been put into place to help each and every young person – whether they went to Sydney or not –further develop their relationship with Jesus in their everyday lives.” he said.

Guiding the Archdiocesan Office for Youth are the words "Pray. Witness. Serve", encapsulating the mission of every young Catholic today.

The Office will be headed by Teresa Wilson, a long-time volunteer of the St Vincent de Paul Society and who more recently dined with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI during World Youth Day 2008. The team will also include Blair McWhinney, Tiffany Orbien, John Rhynehart and Tim Davis. All of the team previously worked on World Youth Day and Days in the Dioceses initiatives, and saw first hand the great rewards of working with the young people in Melbourne parishes, schools and communities.

Teresa shared that a great learning from World Youth Day is that the Church is already rich with resources for ongoing spiritual formation. “Young people are always looking for more ways to discover more about their faith outside the four walls of their local Church. From meditative prayer, worship through music, to social outreach activities with their peers – there are countless avenues for them to get involved in on a personal and social level, helping them grow as individuals while discovering their place in the larger faith community. We hope to help facilitate this while continuing to create more channels for spiritual growth," she said.

The Archdiocesan Office for Youth looks forward to working with many newly strengthened parish and school youth groups, assisting where it can and providing a wide range of opportunities to ensure that young people continue to harness the energy ignited by WYD08.

To contact the Archdiocesan Office for Youth and to find out more about upcoming activities, call 9412 8400 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .