Tenth youth congress proves a big success By Ryan Holovlasky
“Be life, believe, be love” was the theme of the 2013 Redemptorist youth meeting in Sardinia, Italy, which was attended by 500 young people, including 49 from Ireland. Seventeen provinces from all corners of Europe as well as from the US and further afield were represented at the event, which took place from 7-12 August.
Redemptorist Youth Ministry encourages young people to join with Redemptorists in promoting the mission that St Alphonsus set out all those years ago when founding the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
The opening ceremony was filled with the local culture and hospitality of Sardinia. Fr Michael Brehl, superior general of the Redemptorists, officially opened the congress. Each day began with Morning Prayer followed by catechesis in different language groups. After catechesis, discussion groups considered topics such as Life, Community, Faith and Mission.
The Irish delegation presented Fr General with a personalized shirt, with both the Canadian and Irish flags on it and his name on the back. The fourth evening was all about sport, with tug of war, water in the cup and sack races providing great fun. Of course, the overall winners were the Irish!
